ROBOTICS AND

AUTOMATION: A
NEW PERSPECTIVE
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

2
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

CONTENTS

Foreword by Dr Clive Hickman 5

Executive summary 6

Introduction by Mike Wilson 8

1. UK Manufacturing 14

1.1 The importance of manufacturing 14

1.2 Culture of manufacturing 18

Modern manufacturing 19

The importance of culture 22

2. Adoption of Automation and Robotics 24

2.1 Opportunities in engineering 25

2.2 Opportunities in food and drink 28

2.3 A chance for UK manufacturers to make things better 33

2.4 Applications, innovation & supply chain 38

2.5 Providing solutions 43

3. Key Issues 48

3.1 Education 49

3.2 Research and development 52

3.3 Networks supporting robotics in the UK 56

3.4 Technology adoption 61

3.5 Financing and the attitude to investment 64

3.6 Industrial relations 68

3.7 Media 73

Conclusion and recommendations 76

Acknowledgements 82

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION:
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
FOREWORD
Being a hub of innovation and at the heart
of UK manufacturing, the Midlands is
in a well-placed position to understand
the current industrial practises across
the UK. A nation with a proud heritage
of innovation, with a huge opportunity
to strengthen and utilise new processes
across the country, especially through
the introduction, or further adoption, of
automation and robotics systems.
In my role as CEO of the MTC here in
Coventry, I am privileged to see first-
hand the benefits technology can bring
to businesses in all sectors, and of all
sizes. It is important that automation and
robotics technology is adopted and applied
widely in manufacturing to improve the
capability, sustainability, and safety, of
manufacturing processes across multiple
sectors. Throughout my career whenever
this technology has been adopted it has
created jobs, not replaced jobs: provided
an upskilling/reskilling programme is
included in the project. Additionally, as
part of the High Value Manufacturing
Catapult (HVMC), there is ambition to
regain a leading global status as a nation
that is competitive in this field.
Whilst the UK was traditionally a
world leader in manufacturing, our
productivity has been surpassed by other
countries, and if ignored, this gap will
only continue to grow. It is necessary
to address the opportunities available
within manufacturing to get back on top
form, and make advances available to
businesses across the UK.
I commend this paper and the
recommendations it provides in order
to improve automation and robotics
usage across sectors. Commonalities
across different industries will enable
major opportunities within technology
development, and in order to fully adopt
what is available, there must be a greater
awareness of this agenda.
To achieve the target of doubling the
contribution of manufacturing to the UK
economy by 2030, and increasing GVA
(Gross Value Added) in manufacturing, as
stated in the recent HVMC strategic plan,
automation and robotics must be more
widely adopted. As an industry, we need
to introduce automation and robotics in
order to achieve these targets.
Automation and robotics adoption plays an
increasing role in changing the landscape
of manufacturing in the UK. This Paper
highlights some of the important areas
where automation and robotics can
be used effectively, and where help is
further needed to support the future of
manufacturing in the UK.
I would like to thank all those that
contributed to this report; to strengthen
the manufacturing sector and explore
the opportunities that automation and
robotics will present. The landscape is
changing and it is crucial to keep up with
the challenges we face.
Clive Hickman
CEO, Manufacturing Technology Centre
(MTC)
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Manufacturing plays an important role in
developing strong local economies, and
is responsible for over half of UK exports.
In recent years there has been a huge
advance in manufacturing technology,
and with this acceleration, new
opportunities for improved efficiency and
sustainability within the manufacturing
industry. The adoption of automation
and robotics is key to improving UK
manufacturing productivity and tackling
grand challenges such as achieving
Net Zero. However there are barriers
that stand in the way and the adoption
of automation and robotics in the UK,
compared to other countries around the
world, is disappointingly low.
The objective of this paper is to build a
comprehensive picture of the current
automation and robotics landscape
across the UK, to identify opportunities
that address the challenges associated
with adoption, and highlight some of
the benefits this technology can deliver.
Experts in their respective fields have
written different sections, representing
the sector and its various stakeholders.
Some of the key points they identified are:
6
• The UK lags behind the rest of the
world when it comes to productivity,
and ranks 24th for robot density per
10,000 manufacturing employees.
• There is a need for fundamental
change in attitude towards automation
and robotics, encouraging positive
views, addressing the fear of change,
and being bolder in terms of business
culture and strategy.
• Adoption of automation and robotics is
not as prevalent further down supply
chains, with common reasons being
cost of implementation and retraining
of staff.
• There is a lack of understanding about
the impact of automation and robotics,
which results in a negative public
perception and hesitancy to adopt
technology.
• Support is necessary to assist the
introduction of new technology,
particularly for SMEs, to ensure it is
applied effectively and implemented in
the most efficient way.
• The challenges of automation and
robotics adoption are apparent across
multiple sectors.
• It is not necessary to develop and
adopt breakthrough technologies,
most of the required solutions are
already available.
• Engaging the required skills across
business is at the heart of the issue
for robotics and automation adoption,
and investment in training and
engaging interest must be a high
priority.

From the review of the landscape
of automation and robotics in
manufacturing, we have defined a series
of recommendations that address the
challenges that have been identified.
These fall into four key categories; skills
and education, awareness, finance, and
support.
SKILLS AND EDUCATION
To overcome the skills shortage,
investment in the national education
system from schools to colleges and
universities must be a priority to
encourage higher levels of interest in
engineering and technology. Robotics
provides an excellent opportunity to
encourage interest and participation
in engineering. There must also be
partnerships between academia and
industry, developing unified standards
of apprenticeships and appropriate
training opportunities for reskilling
employees whose job roles change due to
the introduction of new automation and
robotics technology.
AWARENESS
All parts of manufacturing must learn
from each other to continually develop
and understand the best opportunities
available. Being aware of the benefits
and challenges that face automation
and robotics adoption is important for
both those in the automation sector, and
those in manufacturing more generally,
so there should be an increased focus
from policymakers, research centres
and the media to promote more case
studies disseminating the long-term
value and major benefits of robotics and
automation. There also needs to be better
communication between the various
stakeholders to enhance and encourage
co-operation and communication.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
FINANCE
The financial community must be
supported in understanding how best to
help businesses invest in new technology.
Businesses must also be supported
in developing the business case for
investment, and government support,
through mechanisms such as tax reliefs,
should continue.
SUPPORT
Support for businesses throughout supply
chains must be enhanced to assist in the
implementation and operation of robotics
and automation solutions, with the High
Value Manufacturing Catapult having a
key role to play. Mutually supportive and
collaborative networks which include
academia, RTOs, automation vendors
and manufacturing industries must
be encouraged, demonstrating and
identifying methods and techniques in
which automation and robotics can be
utilised, with a specific focus on SMEs.
This report provides an updated and
broad review of the contribution of
automation and robotics within UK
manufacturing, and draws attention to
key areas that need to be addressed. It is
essential that the benefits of automation
and robotics are recognised, as the
technology provides an opportunity
to address the challenges faced by
manufacturing. It is vital that the UK does
increase adoption to gain the full benefits
of automation and robotics to develop a
competitive and thriving manufacturing
sector, and as a result provide the
opportunity to build a prosperous future
for our country.
7
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

8
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION
The Government has identified two major It is also worth noting that the pandemic
challenges that we need to address over has exposed the weakness of our
the coming years. Firstly, our contribution extended supply chains, leading to
to the climate crisis with the stated target increasing recognition of the need
of achieving a Net Zero carbon economy to improve resilience within our
by 2050 and secondly to improve the manufacturing by increasing local content
prosperity of the country, particularly by reshoring production capacity.
the deprived regions via the Levelling
With regard to levelling up, the decline
Up Agenda. UK manufacturing has a
of UK manufacturing over the last 50
significant role to play in the achievement
years has largely been the cause of the
of both of these goals.
decline of the more deprived regions.
In terms of Net Zero, this is about The return of a strong manufacturing
ensuring we produce the goods we wish to sector would increase investment and
consume as energy efficiently as possible. employment in these areas and therefore
This should not only be related to local disproportionally benefit the regions
manufacture but also the full supply outside the south east, thereby providing
chain for the production of these goods. a strong contribution to regeneration.
There is therefore a strong case for the
reshoring of significant elements of our
production, not only to ensure these goods
are produced as efficiently as possible,
but also to reduce the energy consumed
during the shipment of goods from current
production bases, such as Asia.

9
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
Our economy has also been declining
in parallel with the decline in
manufacturing. To ensure future
prosperity, we must reverse this decline
by improving our balance of payments and
reduce our debt to ensure we can fund
the quality of life and public services the
country has grown to expect. Our limited
resources need to be concentrated where
returns on investment are the highest.
A strong case1 exists that this can be
provided by rebuilding UK manufacturing
and in particular light industry. In effect,
getting back to making things and selling
them.
It is worth noting that manufacturing
currently accounts for 53% of the UK’s
total exports, and average wages are 13%
higher than in the rest of the economy2. It
is therefore not unrealistic to expect that
growth in manufacturing could lead to
a growth in exports and GDP, as well as
improving wages generally.
However, a significant expansion
of manufacturing capability cannot
be achieved using the current
methodologies, which are largely
based on manual labour and obsolete
equipment. There are two reasons for
this; firstly the labour is not available
and this situation is unlikely to change
as we cannot bring in a large workforce
as we have done in the past; secondly
this approach would not produce goods
that were competitive in comparison
to overseas suppliers which must be
achieved to grow exports.
To grow manufacturing we have too often
looked to new, advanced technologies
as the way forward. However there is
a view that, “reviving manufacturing in
the UK does not need to be based on
technical breakthroughs. We have wasted
far too much time and resources on the
1  Call to action, John Mills and Bryan Gould, 2015
2  UK Manufacturing Facts 2020/21, Make UK
3  Made Smarter review, 2017
10
forlorn hope that our salvation lies in new
technological miracles which will allow
us to overtake our competition in one
bound.” An alternative and much less
risky approach is to look at what we can
do today to ensure we can compete in the
global market place.
To do this effectively we need to give our
workforce the tools to be productive.
To maintain agility and achieve efficient
operations we need to make appropriate
use of flexible automation, including
robotics, to ensure we achieve consistent
high quality from productive and
competitive manufacturing facilities. The
Made Smarter Review3 identified that the
application of automation and robotics
within UK industry could contribute
£183.6bn over the next decade. This is
not a new technology, the solutions are
available and proven. The challenge in
the UK is adoption. If we are to achieve
our aspirations of Net Zero and levelling
up, then this challenge needs to be
addressed.
The purpose of this paper is to provide a
review of the current situation in the UK
robotics sector. We have engaged a range
of experts who have intimate knowledge
of the specific aspects of their sphere
of activity. These range from research
and skills, finance and implementation,
to culture and perceptions. Our
objective was to build a picture of the
current situation to allow us to identify
opportunities to address this adoption
challenge. We believe this approach is
unique and provides a new perspective
on, what we believe to be, one of the
major challenges facing the UK today.
Mike Wilson
Chief Automation Officer, Manufacturing
Technology Centre (MTC)
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

AUTOMATION DEFINITIONS
Automation has a variety of definitions, Industrial Automation is the elimination
but is accepted by BARA (British or reduction of repetitive manual
Automation and Robotics Association) as processes/tasks in an industrial
an “automatically controlled operation environment or application through the
of an apparatus, process, or system by substitution of labour with capital.
mechanical or electronic devices that
Discrete Automation defines the assembly
take the place of human labour.”1 It can
of components into ‘accountable units’. It
be used in a vast number of applications
focusses on the speed and positioning of
and can provide benefits to virtually
assembly, where most parameters, e.g.
all industries through integration,
component positions, are fixed. Discrete
maintenance and more, involving a very
automation is the automation of fixed
broad range of technologies to achieve
individual events.
solutions to complex problems.
Process Automation defines the ‘control
There are multiple types of automation
and monitoring of continuous batch
that can be applied to manufacturing
processes such as oil refining, paper
across all industries, defined in the
manufacturing, chemical production and
following text. It is a combination of
brewing.’ Process automation involves
systems, software, processes and
key variables within the process such as
technology, that come together to enable
temperature, pressure and viscosity etc.,
an activity with some level of autonomy.
and is the automation of a whole process.2

1 https://www.ppma.co.uk/bara/expert-advice/automation-explained.html
2 https://www.aquentstudiosra.com/WhyInvest/automation.html

12
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

ROBOTICS DEFINITIONS
Like automation, robotics has multiple
definitions associated with it, which can lead to
misunderstandings when it comes to statistics.
An Industrial Robot, as defined by ISO 8373:2012
is, ‘an automatically controlled, reprogrammable,
multipurpose manipulator programmable in
3 or more axes, which can be either fixed in
place or mobile for use in industrial automation
applications.’ Robots vary in their autonomy,
with some able to work completely independently
from human intervention and others requiring
continuous instruction to complete the task.
Industrial robots are ‘automatically controlled,
reprogrammable multipurpose manipulator
programmable in three or more axes, which
can be either fixed in place or mobile for use in
industrial automation applications’, as defined by
the IFR (International Federation of Robotics, and
International Organisation for Standardisation).
Service robots are able to perform ‘useful tasks
for humans or equipment excluding industrial
automation applications’, according to the
International Organisations for Standardisation.
They require a degree of autonomy and generally
include systems based on some degree of
human-robot interaction to perform tasks in both
professional and personal uses. Service robots can
be applied in many different application areas, and
have some ability to sense their surroundings in
order to complete their tasks.1
Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) have the
ability to make their own decisions based on their
surroundings using machine learning and artificial
intelligence. They can act independently without
human intervention, and are mobile in terms of
being able to move around in a controlled manner.3
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is ‘software
technology that’s easy for anyone to use to
automate digital tasks.’ As a software tool it has
the ability to partially or fully automate repetitive or
rule-based human activities such as data entry or
simple customer service queries. 4 5
RaaS (Robotics as a Service) has the potential to
be significant in terms of easy adoption, whereby
robotics equipment and maintenance services are
leased to companies for use. This business model
provides the opportunity for scaling up and down
dependant on requirements, and allows versatility
to smaller companies who cannot feasibly invest
in large, expensive equipment. Loughborough
University is embarking on a three year initiative to
improve the ease with which robotics are hired and
deployed.6

Cobots are ‘collaborative robots’, designed

for ‘direct physical interaction with a human
operator, within a shared workspace.’ They are
produced to be safe for use in environments where
humans are present, and therefore have certain
constraints built in to their design. Cobots open
up an interactive work space, which is very suited
to collaboration and can be arranged in a very
adaptable manner due to humans being able to
interact with the robots.2

1 https://ifr.org/service-robots
2 https://cobotsguide.com/
3 https://waypointrobotics.com/blog/what-autonomous-robots/
4 https://www.automationanywhere.com/rpa/robotic-process-automation
5 https://www.aiim.org/what-is-robotic-process-automation
6 https://www.lboro.ac.uk/news-events/news/2021/june/new-project-will-boost-manufacturing-robots-smes/

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
1. UK MANUFACTURING
1.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF MANUFACTURING
CHARLOTTE HOROBIN, MAKE UK
Manufacturing is the process by which
ideas are materialised through the
combination of labour and capital
processes, with the aim to create and add
value to goods and services. Traditional
supply chains were quite literally viewed
as ‘chains’; linear processes where
each function or process was siloed,
carried out by one or a small group of
manufacturers, and once completed,
passed onto the next manufacturer for the
next stage. This allowed manufacturers
to build competitive advantages through
product or service differentiation.
However today, supply chains are complex
networks and perfectly encapsulate the
complexity of UK manufacturing.1
1  Manufacturing Supply Chains Today – the Evolution from Supply Chains to Networks and Potential Disruptors, Make UK & Oracle,
5th May 2020
2  UK Manufacturing The Facts 2020/21. Make UK and Santander, 10th September 2020
14
UK manufacturing is fundamental to UK
prosperity, often cited as contributing
circa 10% UK GDP. The sector delivers far
greater economic benefit than this figure
would have you believe. The UK is the
9th largest manufacturing nation in the
world, producing £191bn (pre-pandemic)
output and employing 2.7 million people.
The sector is responsible for over half of
UK exports, generating true wealth, with
US purchasing over £54bn UK goods,
although the largest single market
remains the European Union. The UK
remains highly regarded as a world
leader in research and development
(R&D) and 65% of the country’s R&D and
16% of its business investment is within
the manufacturing sector.2
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
Manufacturing is fundamental to developing
strong local economies. Whilst it takes a vibrant
and diverse economy to make our towns and
cities buoyant, the manufacturing sector offers
a strong foundation in which other services and
sectors tend to flourish. Manufacturers offer
strong opportunities to employees, often with
higher average pay, consistent shift patterns and
a variety of job roles. These employers tend to
be very supportive and committed to their local
communities, for example many recognise they
need to support local education providers to ensure
they develop the talent of the future. The quality of
the jobs themselves are often high-tech (artificial
intelligence, robotics, 3D printing etc.) and require
specialist knowledge that has been built over many
decades that is not easily replicable elsewhere.
As the industry moves towards industry 4.0 and
beyond, the manufacturing sector will play a
central role in contributing to the UK’s skills base
since it is also one of the biggest supporters of
apprenticeships.
For a small nation the UK regions can feel
particularly diverse and are able to boast their
own sector strengths, often developed on a strong
industrial heritage. The North East and West
Midlands are clear obvious strongholds for the
UK automotive sector, however their complex
integrated supply chains run throughout the UK,
across Europe and beyond. The focus for the
future will be to continue to secure investment to
develop gigafactories which will support electric
vehicle production and the subsequent supply
chain opportunities that will follow. It is worthwhile
highlighting the motorsport industry that also
thrives, particularly around Silverstone, with six out
of ten Formula 1 teams currently based in the UK.
The South West, North West and Midlands are also
globally recognised for their density of aerospace
supply chains. The Welsh manufacturing economy,
not dissimilar to that of the Midlands, relies on the
transport equipment manufacturing sector and the
associated metal products supply chain. The most
resilient subsector is arguably food and drink, as
1  Midlands Engine Makes, July 2021
2  Regional Manufacturing Outlook, Make UK & BDO, 19th July 2021
3  Sector Bulletin, Make UK & Santander
4  Innovation Monitor, Make UK & Infor, 5th October 2020
16
whilst in an economic downturn consumers often
alter their buying behaviours, they do continue
to purchase food and drink. Scotland, the East
Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber all have
strong food and drink manufacturing communities,
with Lincolnshire picking or processing 60%
of all UK food and drink1. The food and drink
sector, whilst employing the most people of any
subsector, invests relatively little into R&D and
has a lower level of productivity. The UK also
boasts two out of the ten largest pharmaceutical
companies in the world, namely AstraZeneca and
GlaxoSmithKline. The East of England and North
West both benefit from this sector’s presence, with
both regions performing strongly in manufacturing
productivity, underpinned by the pharmaceutical
sector’s strengths. The East of England also has
a density of electronics manufacturing as does
the closely located South East, where the capital
and surrounding area accounts for a third of the
sector’s output and turnover.2 3
Regions that have a strong presence of SMEs tend
to be less productive, with a view that ‘bigger is
better’ and larger organisations enjoy economies
of scale. When looking at investment in industrial
digital technologies (IDTs), Make UK’s 2020
Innovation Monitor demonstrated areas such as
Wales and the West Midlands had lower levels of
businesses adopting IDTs. In contrast, the North
West demonstrated high engagement, second only
to that of the South East - this could be due to the
support of the Made Smarter adoption programme,
which has subsequently been rolled out to the
whole of the North of England and West Midlands
this year.4
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

1.2 CULTURE OF MANUFACTURING

To embark on any kind of change, it is worthwhile recognising the roots of
current practises. In understanding the culture of the UK and its attitude towards
manufacturing, it is possible to determine the most effective way to integrate
automation and robotics into businesses. In this section there are two perspectives that
discuss how the UK’s attitude towards manufacturing has originated, and why culture is
important when it comes to the future of manufacturing.

18

Modern Manufacturing
PROFESSOR CHRIS WHITE, INDUSTRIAL POLICY RESEARCH CENTRE
Manufacturing has an identifiable culture;
it is part of the Great British ‘brand’.
The reality of the sector, with all its
many dimensions which are increasingly
influenced and reliant on emerging
technologies, is far removed from the
public’s rather nostalgic perception – a
perception that needs to change.
The report on Public Images of
Manufacturing in the UK, written in 2013
by Dr. Finbarr Livesey of the University of
Cambridge, acknowledged the challenge
faced by the sector, with the image of
manufacturing being an ongoing concern:
“Since the turn of the century, concern
over the image of manufacturing and the
impact of a negative image on the growth
of the sector have been explicit in UK
government documents and speeches
from leading politicians. This concern has
been part of the debate on the viability of
rebalancing the economy to have a strong
manufacturing component.”
This image is holding the sector
back, but there does seem to be an
acknowledgement that this needs to
change. From the ‘Northern Powerhouse’
to ‘the Midlands Engine’ to the ‘March of
the Makers’, the language being used by
politicians in the last decade has seen a
marked change in tone and emphasis.
However, the popular perception
described in the foreword to the All Party
Manufacturing Report: Making Good,
written in 2013, still rings true:
“No other sector of the British economy
holds the social, cultural, and emotional
significance with the British public as
manufacturing, yet it continues to be
in some respects a misunderstood,
misaligned and misrepresented part of
1  All-Party Manufacturing Group Report: Making Good – A Study of Culture & Competitiveness in UK Manufacturing, Pg. 19, 2013
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
our national identity. This sector of the
economy particularly has a deep and
significant relationship to wider cultural
factors.”1
This position is clearly something the
sector can be proud of, but there is a
need for a fundamental change in the
narrative to help shape and transform
our industrial culture to meet current
demands. It is the public who work in
the sector and advise their children to
study engineering, or be inspired to set
up a business that designs, makes, and
exports a product, who have the largest
influence.
The misunderstanding about modern
manufacturing is not necessarily about
what the sector looks like – we know that
the dark satanic mills have gone, and
understand that clean, efficient, hi-tech
factories and laboratories have replaced
them. However, the public has bought
the myth of the inevitability of companies
moving ‘manufacturing’ abroad. The
history of post-war manufacturing is
well-rehearsed. In the post war decades,
the UK industrialised; manufacturing
reached its largest ever share of UK GDP
in the 1960s and 1970s, just at the point
that regional productivity differences
were smallest. After the 1970s, this share
rapidly declined, as described by the
recent report by the think-tank Onward:
“While many richer countries have
deindustrialised since the 1970s, almost
none has done so as much as the UK. In
1970 the UK had the sixth largest share
of manufacturing in the economy in the
G20. Today it is second from bottom.
Countries as diverse as South Korea
and Ireland have caught up or overtaken
19
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

our living standards while growing the Labour Party Conference, saying that
share of manufacturing in their economy. if the country was to prosper, a “new
Rising countries like India and China have Britain” would need to be forged in the
grown their share. While many other “white heat” of a scientific revolution.
rich countries have deindustrialised far
less. This may be because the majority Wilson’s words resonated with
of members of the G20 have tried much the nation’s view of the ‘culture’
harder to maintain an industrial base of manufacturing; we know that
and introduced policies to increase the manufacturing is an essential element of
share of modern manufacturing in their our economy; important to employment
economies.“2 and trade, driving skills and innovation,
impacting society and providing a better

105

104

103
INDEX 2015 = 100

102

101

100

99

98
CAN FRA DEU ITA JPN GBR USA G-7

Figure 1: Gross domestic product per hour worked, G7 countries, 2019.

OECD (2021), GDP per hour worked (indicator). doi: 10.1787/1439e590-en (Accessed on 12 October 2021) https://data.oecd.org/
lprdty/gdp-per-hour worked.htm

1963 might have been the year when quality of life, with a heritage dating back
the potential of the sector was last to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution.
fully appreciated, when the then Prime
However, since his call to arms, UK
Minister, Harold Wilson, spoke to the
manufacturing itself has not received

2  Making a Comeback, How a Manufacturing renaissance can level up the country, Onward report, August 12 2021 https://www.
ukonward.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Making-a-comeback.pdf

20

the investment it required to keep place,
let alone lead. Industrial relations have
been poor. International competition has
grown rapidly with emerging economies
increasingly well placed and structured to
create their own manufacturing clusters,
with enviable levels of productivity,
skills, and quality. Too often in the past,
manufacturing has been seen as ‘dirty,
dangerous, and dull’, with a lack of
awareness of how things were made.
But now with the revolution having
reached its fourth iteration, there is a need
for a shift away from words and campaigns
to the delivery of a true ‘scientific
superpower’, not least to prepare for a
post-Brexit and post-Covid world and a
welcome commitment by the Government
to reach a spending level of 2.4% of GDP
on science and research by 2027.3
The ‘Industrial Strategy’, published
in 2017, signalled a shift towards
interventionism, and subsequent policy
announcements this year have followed
a similar, reassuring path: the innovation
strategy, the research and development
(R&D), people and culture strategy, and
the Made Smarter programme, all make
for a compelling and coherent approach.
Manufacturing is being identified as part
of ‘Global Britain’s’ offer. In June, Science
Minister Amanda Solloway MP said: “If
the last year and a half has taught us
anything, it’s that new challenges can
arise from anywhere at any time,” she
continued, “By investing millions in the
UK’s research infrastructure, we are
putting science and innovation at the
heart of our efforts to build back better
while ensuring that we can respond to
challenges now and in the future – from
pandemic preparedness to tackling
climate change.”
3  Post-pandemic economic growth: Industrial Policy in the UK, BEIS, Pg. 9, 2021-22 https://committees.parliament.uk/publica-
tions/6452/documents/70401/default/
4  Manufacturing Confidence, Midlands Manufacturing Resilience Commission, 2021 https://www.m2r.org.uk/the-report/
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
The opportunity is here, and because
of the pandemic, public perception
has changed – calling for an increased
resilience in our supply chain. The
acceleration of the introduction of
automation and robotics into production,
and the adoption of new technology
generally, will create a revolution in the
way it thinks about manufacturing and
its culture. Particularly as this culture
becomes increasingly intertwined with
society.
As Dr Clive Hickman notes in the
Midlands Manufacturing Resilience
Commission’s report, Manufacturing
Confidence:
“This Report recognises the impact that
the ‘future of work’ in manufacturing
will have on society and communities.
On balance, and in my experience,
automation and digitisation will increase,
rather than decrease employment, but
the issue must be handled sensitively and
should form part of a national debate.”4
The future of work and, for that matter,
the future of manufacturing, is about to
change dramatically. Its culture can no
longer be described as ‘dirty, dangerous
and dull’, but one that is clean, safe, and
as exciting as our imagination will allow.
21
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

The Importance of Culture

JACK SEMPLE, ENGINEERING AND MACHINERY ALLIANCE (EAMA)

Culture is a key influencer in any we have only about 6% of the European

company, sector and economy. It can market and are well behind leading
propel progress forward or it can hold industrial economies such as Germany,
it back. It can define what progress is France and Italy.
considered to be.
There are many reasons for these low
Cultural change seems to be everywhere rankings, but a lot may well come down
at present, from the government’s to culture. There is a culture of financial
approach to carbon emissions in response and accounting caution, where the case
to climate change, to shifting views about for investment is not clearly understood;
working at home in response to the Covid and of engineering conservatism. Pride
pandemic. In the same way, business in, and comfort with, traditional skills
leaders should consider reviewing where and processes and in keeping machines
their firms are, culturally, in relation to working indefinitely may be dominant
the adoption of robotics and automation. in many firms at the expense of looking
The UK is not well placed at the moment forward to new ways of working and
– being 24th in the world for use of robots technical innovation. Looking back rather
per 10,000 manufacturing employees1, than looking forward.
and well behind in automation, in which

Robot density in the manufacturing industry 2020

ROBOTS INSTALLED PER 10,000 EMPLOYEES

932

605

390
371

289 275
255 248 246 246
224 221 209 205 203 194 183 181 176 175 162 WORLD 126
GERMANY

ITALY
REP. OF KOREA
SINGAPORE
JAPAN

SWEDEN
HONG KONG
UNITED STATES
CHINESE TAIPEI
CHINA
DENMARK

BELGIUM
NETHERLANDS
AUSTRIA
SPAIN
FRANCE
SLOVENIA
SWITZERLAND
CANADA
SLOVAKIA
CZECH REPUBLIC

Source: IFR World Robotics Density 2021 – UK ranks 24th with a density of 101 units
World Robotics 2021 - Industrial Robots

1  World Robotics 2021 - Industrial Robots

22

At its most extreme, British
manufacturing is caricatured as being
based on a passion for fettling old
machines, fuelled by nostalgia for the
triumphs of previous eras. The reality is
entirely different, and our best companies
show lean, automated and effective
manufacturing processes, resulting in
components and end products that are
among the best in the world. These are
the companies to watch.
But the UK’s rankings for robotics and
for automation don’t lie, and the cultural
needle needs to shift. However, that does
not mean ignoring the achievements of
the past. History can show the importance
of a culture of commitment to quality,
good processes and innovation, based
on strong understanding of engineering
which can adapt to evolving technologies
and customer and regulatory demands.
We know that technology is changing
rapidly in most sectors, above all, in
terms of digital technology. The firms
that understand and embrace that will be
the ones that prosper. They will have the
basis for demonstrating to customers,
suppliers, and investors that they have a
culture that is attractive and geared for
success. They will also be able to attract
the best talent, which can drive further
improvement.
2  UK Innovation Strategy, Leading the future by creating it, BEIS, Pg. 93, 2021 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/
uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1009577/uk-innovation-strategy.pdf
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
All these factors are going to be
important as the UK and economies
around the world come out of the
pandemic. Change looks set to accelerate
in response to shifting market demands,
investment in sustainable technologies,
and the reshaping of supply chains. The
companies that are able to react quickly
to changing demands and ramp up
volumes reliably, and meet ever more
demanding quality standards, will be
those that have started the journey on
robotics and automation.
The total UK market for robotics &
autonomous systems (RAS) is forecast
to grow at a compound annual growth
rate of more than 40% per annum
between 2020 and 2030, according to the
Department for Business, Energy and
Industrial Strategy; by 2030, BEIS predicts
it will have reached a market size of
almost £3.5 billion.2
This does not look to be a time to be
standing still as a business. At the
Engineering and Machinery Alliance
(EAMA), we are hearing of a growing
number of firms starting to invest in
robots and automation, often having put
that investment off in the past. It is the
revival of a bolder, more adventurous
business culture which is in the best
traditions of British engineering, and
which is much-needed.
23
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

2. ADOPTION OF AUTOMATION AND ROBOTICS

Robotics and automation innovations can be applied effectively in a variety of ways, and
some of the opportunities for adoption available in manufacturing are discussed in the
following section. In addition are the views of three major robot businesses, two of which
are UK subsidiaries of leading global robot companies, and the leading robot suppliers
- and also system providers - in the UK. The third is the UK representative of the largest
cobot supplier globally. These provide an informative view of the challenges facing robot
adoption in the UK and also the potential that could be realised.

24
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

2.1 OPPORTUNITIES IN ENGINEERING

JAMES SELKA, MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES ASSOCIATION (MTA)

The global pandemic and uncertainties than those required previously. The latest
caused by Brexit have dramatically robots simply need to be shown how to do
altered the manufacturing landscape the task, rather than require lots of coding.
in the UK. There has always been a
Automation technology is far more
demand from industry for an increase in
than just robots. Automation is the
productivity and improvement in quality,
bringing together of sensors, software,
however these are now coupled with a
computing power, and mechanical
greater need to work remotely and the
sub-systems, to create an engineering
various issues associated with recruiting
system which functions with no, or very
and retaining the right skills in the
minimal, human input. Good examples of
workforce.
automation systems can be easily seen
Automation and robotic technologies in many of today’s household goods we
are obvious candidates to address these might interact with, such as washing
industry demands. The deployment machines. Historically clothes were
of these technologies into the work washed by hand – a process that took
environment could provide industry with time and was relatively hard work. Today
an opportunity to be more competitive though, clothes are simply placed into
and productive in the national and global the drum of a washing machine, along
marketplace, allowing businesses to with the cleaning products, the washing
redeploy the existing workforce to higher programme is selected, and an hour or so
skilled jobs, and also enable these later everything comes out clean.
employees to work remotely. Furthermore,
The development and innovation
when considering the adoption of these
of the technologies which makes
technologies on a national scale, they
up an automation system, such as
will allow for shorter supply chains as
sensors, cloud computing and wireless
products are manufactured closer to
communication, is improving at a rapid
home, helping to reduce mileage and ease
rate. These developments are enabling
coordination, which means less impact
automation systems to be deployed to
on the environment and therefore also
complete increasingly complex tasks – a
contributing towards the UK’s Net Zero
trend which is only set to continue.
target.
TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
CONTINUOUS INNOVATION
The level to which robotic and automation
Automation and robotic technologies are
technologies are deployed and utilised
continuously evolving, being refined, and
across manufacturing sectors is
improved. In 1974 robotic technology had
reasonably mature at the top end of each
a five axes capability and load capacity
sector. Viewing any OEM factory in the
of 6kg.1 Today’s robots are designed
UK, whether automotive, aerospace, food
and manufactured to suit a variety of
& drink, pharmaceuticals, or defence,
application areas. Some of them can now
you will see robotic and automation
have up to 30 axes of freedom, or even
technology in action. A great example
be used to carry thousands of kilos. The
of this is at the MINI Plant in Oxford,
skills required to use and operate robotic
where, in the “body in white” assembly
technologies are also far simpler today

1  Robot History, Timeline https://ifr.org/robot-history

25
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
area, there are over 1200 robots working
in collaboration to produce the base
structure of a MINI every 63 seconds!
However, the adoption of automation and
robotic technologies is not as prevalent
further down the manufacturing supply
chain. The common issues cited when
understanding why automation and
robotics solutions aren’t adopted are
generally to do with the cost to purchase,
the skills required to use and maintain
them, the cost of retraining staff, the loss
of productivity while changing from manual
to automated, and finally, a culture of fear
around technology displacing jobs.
BIG OPPORTUNITY
One of the biggest opportunities for
automation and robotic technologies
lies in the UK manufacturing supply
chain. If more of this supply chain
can start adopting and using these
technologies, then we will very likely
see a jump in domestic productivity. To
give an indication of just how big this
opportunity for adoption is, in 2019 the
world average for the number of installed
industrial robots per 10,000 employees
in manufacturing was 113. The world
leaders were Singapore with 918, with the
highest level of adoption in Europe being
in Germany, with 346. The UK lags well
behind with just 85. To give this further
context as to current growth in use of
robots in manufacturing, Germany went
from 309 installed robots per 10,000
employees in 2016 to 346 in 2019 – a
change of 37. The UK in comparison went
from 71 to 85, an increase of just 14.2
With the costs of automation and
robotic technology falling, and the level
of skill required to use it effectively
much lower than before, now is the
moment for the UK manufacturing
supply chain to fully embrace these
2  Robot Race: The World’s Top 10 automated countries, January 2021 https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/robot-race-the-
worlds-top-10-automated-countries
26
technologies. These technologies will
give the UK manufacturing supply chain
the opportunity to retrain and redeploy
their workforces into higher skilled jobs,
achieve productivity gains through ‘lights-
out’ production, increase product quality
through more consistent manufacturing
processes, increase their flexibility
through allowing manufacture of a
greater variety of products, and improve
company decision-making as a result of
the manufacturing process and therefore
delivery of goods being more predictable.
Looking at increased adoption of
automation and robotics technologies
on a national level, the UK will be able
to become a bigger player in industrial
manufacturing globally.
THE FUTURE
Technologies which further enable
automation and robotics, such as artificial
intelligence and cloud computing, are
developing at a rapid pace. As these
technologies advance, automation and
robotics technologies will become even
more sophisticated. There are already
robotics technologies in development
which mimic the human hand, those
which have an element of self-repair, and
those that self-optimise their process
through simulation. In the future you
can easily imagine a block of material
being delivered to a robot cell, which then
converts it into a finished verified product
with no manual intervention.
As the UK moves into a post Brexit world
and adapts to the huge shift in working
practice caused by the pandemic, it has a
huge opportunity to become a world leader
in manufacturing through the adoption
of automation and robotic technologies.
In the future, these technologies will be
essential for any company who wants to
be competitive in what is, after all, a global
manufacturing market.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

27
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
2.2 OPPORTUNITIES IN FOOD AND DRINK
IAN WRIGHT, FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION (FDF)
The food and drink industry has
become one of the largest adopters
of automation and robotics in the UK,
which demonstrates the direction of the
automation adoption landscape. Food and
drink is one of the largest industries, with
a high proportion of SMEs in the sector
ideally positioned to shift the perceptions
of automation and robotics in the UK.
UK food and drink is a success story.
It is the largest manufacturing sector
in the UK, employing over 430,000
people in every region and nation.
Each year thousands of new products
are launched. In 2019, food and drink
businesses invested close to £1bn in
innovation and the sector’s acquisition
1  Facts and stats, FDF, May 2021 https://www.fdf.org.uk/fdf/business-insights-and-economics/facts-and-stats/
28
of robots in 2020 increased by more than
a third on 2019. Food and drink is now
the second largest sector in terms of
robots purchased annually – we are truly
advanced manufacturing. But there are
opportunities to go further and deliver
significant productivity improvements
particularly with the high proportion of
small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) which make up 97% of the food
and drink manufacturing sector. We
see this as a real opportunity for the
food and drink industry to contribute to
the Government’s Levelling Up Agenda
given our geographical diversity, with
a manufacturing factory in every UK
parliamentary constituency.1
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

29
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
One of the great strengths of the sector
is its resilience. This has been amply
demonstrated by its success in keeping
the nation fed throughout the global
pandemic. However, the pressures
from the pandemic, changing trade
arrangements and, increasingly, the
disruption to the labour market, should
not be underestimated. Although they
have kept producing, for many businesses
the real success has simply been survival:
they face the recovery from Covid-19
and the post-EU exit period with great
trepidation.
Taken together, these pressures are
simultaneously an incentive and a blocker
for change. The need for greater adoption
of automation and robotics in food and
drink is more acute, but capability to plan
and finance such improvements are under
intense strain. Complex supply chains
and tight margins mixed with disruption
from Covid-19 and post-EU exit are trial
enough. Mix these with the longer-term
challenges around sustainability and Net
Zero, and the undertaking to plan and
make the investment decisions necessary
to innovate can seem almost herculean.
Nevertheless, sustainability and achieving
Net Zero are key governmental, business
and societal priorities that simply
must be addressed. Automation and
robotics will have a critical role to play.
As the momentum around businesses
decarbonising their manufacturing
facilities builds, we will see a growing
interest in electrifying processes
which are currently run on fossil fuels.
Combined with an increasing cost of
energy, this will further drive the need
for more efficient technologies and
management controls for appliances
when switching from fossil fuels to
electric alternatives.
1  BEIS research and development (R&D) budget allocations 2021-2022
30
The pandemic has cemented the place
of food and drink as integral to national
wellbeing in a way that has not been
seen in this country for generations. We
have finally, as a nation, recognised that
if you can’t feed a country you don’t have
a country. The challenge is how to do so
efficiently and effectively: investment in
automation and robotics will be at the
heart of delivering that change.
But investment in research and
development is concentrated in two ways
that disadvantage our industry. First, it is
weighted heavily towards certain sectors
such as pharmaceuticals and automotive.
Secondly, it is targeted in particular
regions of the UK. For example, it is the
golden triangle that receives the lion’s
share of investment with more than half
going to London, the East and the South
East. As the UK aims to boost R&D spend
from 1.7% to 2.4% of GDP1, food and drink
manufacturing must take this opportunity
to increase its share, nationwide.
We must not forget that developing
the capabilities and technologies
themselves is only one part of the puzzle;
technological and process innovations
only deliver on their potential once they
are adopted by businesses, at scale. In
a sector that is predominantly SMEs
producing an astounding panoply of
products, the easy answer might be to say
that food and drink manufacturing is just
different to other areas of manufacturing
and we have nothing to learn from them.
This approach would be a grave strategic
mistake, and all parts of manufacturing
must seek to learn from each other,
apply and adapt existing technologies
and importantly collaborate and share
ideas. This is why the FDF is a founder
member of the National Manufacturing
Skills Taskforce, working with other
manufacturing groups to provide
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

leadership and to make a positive impact

to the skills challenges facing all of the
sectors of manufacturing.

The role of the MTC and its partner

catapult centres is critical in supporting
food and drink businesses, and the FDF is
delighted that our two organisations are
aligned and working closely to the same
goals. The FDF works with the MTC in
bringing together the innovation support
across England, Scotland and Wales
into a single ‘Food and Drink Innovation
Gateway’; a great example of what can
be achieved through collaboration.
The Gateway will make it easier for
businesses to access the wealth of
support available through the Catapult
Network and academic institutions, while
also enabling us to better understand the
needs and trends to continuously improve
provision.

There has never been a more critical

time to innovate and ‘The UK Innovation
Strategy’ recognises that we must seize
this moment, and that business must
make innovation central to everything
they do. Businesses across food and
drink manufacturing are all too aware
of this. The Innovation Strategy calls for
“world-class regulation”, and I agree, we
must give businesses the space to plan
and adopt innovation. Then together we
can deliver a sustainable, affordable, and
secure food system, that will keep the
nation fed for generations to come.

31
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

32

2.3 A CHANCE FOR UK MANUFACTURERS TO MAKE
THINGS BETTER
NIGEL PLATT, ABB ROBOTICS
Automation and robotics present
significant scope for boosting productivity
in manufacturing and logistics
applications. Offering the potential for
faster, more consistent and efficient
production with less waste, robots provide
companies with the flexibility to adapt
to changing conditions, making them
especially well-suited to addressing many
of the structural weaknesses revealed by
the Covid-19 pandemic and the disruption
caused by situations such as Brexit.
As robotic hardware, software and
artificial intelligence technologies
increasingly combine, new possibilities
are opening for deploying robots in
manufacturing applications. Today’s
robotic solutions can be used to
achieve highly automated end-to-
end manufacturing, with options
encompassing everything from low
payload cobots and fast picking Delta
robots, through to modular solutions
and complete cells for handling multiple
operations. Examples of tasks that can be
handled robotically include parts storage
and retrieval, machine tending, welding,
finishing and painting, quality inspection,
and logistics functions such as storage
and retrieval, picking and sorting. The
development of smart automated guided
vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile
robots (AMRs) is also helping to boost
efficiency, enabling the seamless transfer
of parts or sub-assemblies between
different production stations, and ensuring
that they are delivered where they need to
be, on time and without error.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Globally, the benefits that this joined
up approach to production can bring
is seeing a steady growth in the
adoption of robotics and automation
outside of their traditional automotive
stronghold, by branching into a variety of
industries, including food and beverage,
pharmaceuticals, electronics, logistics
and construction, and looking for ways to
integrate robots into their operations.
TACKLING SME CONCERNS
Innovations such as cobots and simplified
programming and user interfaces are also
helping to address many of the concerns
around complexity and affordability
that have deterred small and medium
enterprises (SMEs) from investing in
robotic automation, providing them with
an easy and scalable path for learning
how to integrate robotic automation
into their operations. Cobots especially
provide the opportunity for inexperienced
users to tackle the ‘low hanging fruit’ of
simpler applications, with the experience
gained enabling them to develop their
understanding of what can be achieved
with more complex set-ups.
TAKING THE PAIN OUT OF CHANGE
The growing availability of tools such
as digital twins, virtual reality (VR) and
augmented reality (AR), and offline
programming and simulation software,
is also helping companies to find ways to
optimise robot performance by enabling
them to develop and test different
configurations to find the best solution for
their requirements. This ability to model
and refine robotic processes to find the
optimum configuration is particularly
beneficial for industries subject to rapid
changes in consumer demands, such
as the food and beverage and logistics
industries. In these industries especially,
33
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
requirements can change quickly due to
shifting consumer demands, requiring
production or handling lines to be
adapted to accommodate new products
or packages.
ROBOTS AND PEOPLE – THE BEST OF
BOTH WORLDS
With the ability to manage an expanding
range of tasks and work consistently
around the clock, robots provide an
ideal solution for enhancing working
environments and productivity. Ongoing
developments in robotic usability,
performance, and capabilities including
vision, force control and path following,
have helped to broaden the applicability
of robots across a range of tasks and
applications, enabling them to be used
to fill gaps in workforces caused by
skills shortages. In many cases, this can
enable companies to make better use of
their existing skilled workforces by using
robots either to take over lower value
or dirty and more dangerous tasks, or
else to provide additional much needed
production capacity.
At a leading UK agricultural
manufacturer, for example, introducing
a robot to handle complex welding
operations for a hedge cutting attachment
enabled the company’s experienced
welding team to be deployed onto
other lower volume, niche products.
The resulting improvements, which
included a 66% reduction in production
times, helped the company to expand its
production capacity, with extra products
able to be handled by the robot, and
the manual workers being used for fast
turnaround tasks and those which are too
large for the cell to handle.
1  Skanska rewrites the rules of rebar tying, 2021 https://new.abb.com/news/detail/78314/cstmr-skanska-rewrites-the-rules-of-
rebar-tying
34
Another example is in the construction
sector, where robots are being used by
companies throughout the construction
value chain to help tackle the industry’s
growing skills crisis. By taking over
tedious and potentially dangerous tasks,
robots are enabling companies to make
better use of their existing resources by
deploying them to handle other higher
value tasks. Multinational construction
company Skanska, for example, uses
robots to produce cages of reinforcement
bars (rebars) that help to hold concrete
structures together. By automating
the rebar production process, the time
needed to produce the cages has been
cut, from 16 hours per tonne using
manual labour to just 1 hour per tonne.
The resulting labour saving means the
company can use its workers for other
tasks and projects.1
Furthermore, by combining robots with
digital technologies such as 3D printing
and building design software, these
companies have also been able to build
an expanded range of structures with
less waste, enabling them to increase
their offering to customers whilst
lowering their production costs, and
improving their environmental and quality
performance at the same time.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

PREPARING THE UK FOR A ROBOTIC

FUTURE
With many UK manufacturing companies
citing a shortage of expert robot
operators as a key reason for not
switching to robotic automation, there
is a need to ensure that both current
and future generations of workers can
access the training they need to be able
to use robots. For this reason, robot
manufacturers, including ABB Ltd., have
devoted considerable effort to designing
training programmes aimed at all
levels of ability, enabling operators to
develop their skills from basic through
to advanced levels. At the grassroots
level, specific efforts have also gone into
developing packages for schools, colleges
and universities, combining both robots
and programming tools to equip students
with the knowledge and experience
needed to develop, build, and maintain
robotic solutions for manufacturing
applications.

At university level especially, from

undergraduate degree to PhD research,
this can also have the benefit of helping
to identify new ways for robots to be
used to deliver improvements or solve
problems. University research, for
example, was the starting point for a new
flat panel display recycling solution that
has been developed by an Irish start-
up. The company’s solution combines
robotic automation and AI to enable the
sustainable dismantling of computer
and TV flat panel displays, separating
out harmful chemicals and valuable
components for recovery and reuse rather
than sending them to waste.

35
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

CASE STUDY

Robotic machine tending cells help metal

castings manufacturer to transform productivity
ABB’s Feedline machine tending robot Adam Vicary, Managing Director for
cells have helped a manufacturer of Castings PLC advises, “Using robotic
cast metal products to dramatically automation on variable batch runs is
improve its productivity. Working 24 nothing to be afraid of. Thought needs to
hours a day assisting in the loading and be given about how your process could
unloading of grinding machines used in use automation and where it could fit in.”
the manufacture of iron and iron castings
The success of the trial cell led to a
for the automotive industry, the cells
further 12 machine tending cells being
have enabled Castings PLC to increase
installed by May 2017, all commissioned
its output by 50% with a 50% reduction in
with the help of ABB. The cells are used
cycle times.
to handle a range of components up to
As a Tier 1 supplier to the heavy truck 5kg, with each currently programmed to
sector, Castings PLC specialises in the handle 90 different part types, which can
production of ductile iron and ductile iron be processed on any machine.
alloy components for vehicle chassis and
A key benefit of the cells is their ease of
engines. The company typically produces
operation. Programming can be mastered
medium sized batches, ranging from
within a few days, enabling operators to
2,000 up to 50,000 parts per batch, as well
quickly change over the cells to handle
as machining of parts from 1kg up to 30kg
different component types.
in weight.
Thanks to the improvements brought
The decision to use robotic automation
by the cells, worker effectiveness at
was prompted by a drive to find ways to
Castings PLC has been transformed.
better utilise the company’s workforce.
One operator can now handle up to four
Previously, the company’s CNC grinding
machines, effectively halving the amount
machines were loaded and unloaded
of labour required. The automated cells
manually, with one operator assigned to
also mean that production can now also
handle two machines. This was incurring
be run around the clock, which has seen
long periods of dead time, limiting the
the company significantly increase its
productivity of both the operator and
production output.
the machines. There was also the ever
present risk of operator injury caused by Vicary concludes, “Our experience shows
lifting and carrying heavy components that robots are not just for high volume
into and out of the machines. processes – provided you give the right
thought and consideration to how robots
To help evaluate whether robots could
can be used, there is very little that they
achieve these aims and help win board
can’t be used for.”
approval, Castings PLC first installed a
pilot cell in 2015. Utilising an ABB robot,
imaging system and conveyor belt, the
cell proved it could deliver the flexibility
that Castings PLC was looking for.

36
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

“USING ROBOTIC AUTOMATION ON VARIABLE

BATCH RUNS IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF.
THOUGHT NEEDS TO BE GIVEN ABOUT HOW YOUR
PROCESS COULD USE AUTOMATION AND WHERE IT
COULD FIT IN.”
Adam Vicary
Managing Director, Castings PLC

37
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
2.4 APPLICATIONS, INNOVATION & SUPPLY CHAIN
PETER WILLIAMSON, RARUK AUTOMATION
APPLICATIONS
Over recent years, developments in
robotics and automation have made
the opportunity to automate processes
much more accessible for companies and
industries that have previously struggled
to automate. Either cost, complexity,
or sheer size of the equipment, has
prevented many companies from
investing. Through the arrival of
collaborative robots and autonomous
mobile robots, and the improvements
in the ease of programming and
implementation of more traditional
robotics and automation solutions, far
smaller companies with less budget and
internal knowledge have been able to
benefit from automating their processes.
One such company, B-Loony, a small
company producing party bunting and
catering supplies, was able to grow
significantly through the implementation
of collaborative robots and bespoke
feeding systems. The implementation of
robotics and automation here proves that
the benefits of increased productivity and
attracting new business are available
to companies of any size across any
industry.
38
INNOVATION
As well as companies not previously
utilising this technology being converted,
the new technology also allows certain
industries with unique challenges to
become more automated.
The food industry in the UK has a severe
shortage of labour, particularly in
unskilled areas such as fruit picking. An
issue that has historically been solved by
the use of low cost labour is now having
to investigate automation due to the
reduced labour supply in recent years.
The innovative use of robotics has allowed
food producers to reduce their reliance
on a dwindling labour market by adopting
automated picking solutions. Indeed,
a new breed of agricultural robots and
automation, utilising developments
on GPS and AI technology and cloud
computing, are rapidly growing.
This is a challenging environment, where
tasks that appear simple and at a lower
skill level (determining whether the food
is ready to be harvested, identifying the
item, how to handle / pick etc.) are very
complex to automate. Historically, due to
the complexity versus the cost of labour
conundrum, there has not been a need
or desire to automate. However, as the
saying goes, necessity is the mother of
all invention. The need to find alternative
methods to pick fresh produce to ensure
that it doesn’t perish in the fields is high
in the UK. The increased costs of lost
production, as well as those created by
the shortage of labour, are justifying
more investment.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

SUPPLY CHAIN
The continued shortage of labour affects
all areas of the supply chain. Addressing
the issue by the application of automation
and robotics is a solution that is
applicable to supply chains in all sectors.

Increasingly, taking goods from storage

to production, or from production to
shipping, is being fulfilled by automation
solutions. Throughout the supply chain,
from production to centralised fulfilment
centres managed by 3PL (third party
logistics) companies through to delivery,
automation is playing an increasing role.
The use of autonomous or unmanned
robots to move goods, automated
storage solutions to house and distribute
product, and robotic picking, packing, and
palletising solutions, are continuing to
revolutionise the supply chain.

39
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

CASE STUDY

Robots wave the flag for automation at B-Loony

B-Loony Ltd. has built its business as
a leading printer of promotional latex
and foil balloons. In recent years, the
company has achieved significant growth
by expanding into additional markets,
particularly restaurants, bars, catering
and food services.
The company prides itself on quality and
compliance and is subject to regular
audits by major retailers and other
customers. B-Loony has also recently
achieved FSSC 22000 certification
for its food-safe gourmet food flag
manufacturing process. Orders for this
product quickly increased, and as a
relatively intricate manual assembly
operation is required, logic pointed
towards automation as the way forward.
“The problem we faced with finding an
automated solution, was precision,”
explains James Clephan, Operations
Director at B-Loony. “The flag’s skewer
has to be placed on the exact centre of
the adhesive flag, so that when it folds
over the edges align neatly.”
Four UR3 cobots from RARUK Automation
now serve this area of the business on a
24-hour shift pattern.
our first foray into robotics, they initially
lent us a UR3 so that we could gain
confidence from the unit and see that it
worked in the way we wanted. This proved
to be an invaluable experience.”
Mr Clephan is keen to point out that his
strategy of automating tasks which were
previously performed manually is not to
reduce headcount, but to gain market
share.
“The collaborative aspect of the UR3
cobots is pertinent in this respect,”
he says. “Any workers who have had
their jobs replaced by a cobot today
work alongside the units. They have
been upskilled and now manage the
automation function of the operation.
Some were naturally sceptical at first, but
now they’ve seen it for themselves, our
workforce has bought into the idea.”
B-Loony exemplifies how SME
manufacturers can realise the benefits
of flexible automation. Adopting cobots
has enabled the business to continue
manufacturing in the UK, and remain
highly responsive to customer demands
for personalised products, all while
growing its market share.

James Clephan pointed out that support

from RARUK Automation was valuable in
adopting automation, saying, “As this was

40
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

“ANY WORKERS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR JOBS

REPLACED BY A COBOT TODAY WORK ALONGSIDE
THE UNITS. THEY HAVE BEEN UPSKILLED AND
NOW MANAGE THE AUTOMATION FUNCTION
OF THE OPERATION. SOME WERE NATURALLY
SCEPTICAL AT FIRST, BUT NOW THEY’VE SEEN IT
FOR THEMSELVES, OUR WORKFORCE HAS BOUGHT
INTO THE IDEA.”
James Clephan
Operations Director, B-Loony
41
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

42

2.5 PROVIDING SOLUTIONS
TOM BOUCHIER, FANUC
FANUC UK sees first-hand the increased
demand for bespoke solutions,
articulated robots, and collaborative
robots. Although this appetite is present,
we frequently receive enquiries from
companies wishing to automate without
a clear understanding of how they
should approach this technology. When
you consider the significant impact that
automation can have on a business, it is
vital that it is done correctly.
When entering the world of automation,
we believe the best approach is to start
an open dialogue. Our unique position
to collaborate with key manufacturing
stakeholders means companies are aided
in determining the most appropriate
automation options for them. A
philosophy of building more than just
a sale has resulted in a partnership
approach with integrators and OEM’s with
the final aim being for FANUC UK to act
as the bridge to automation.
The biggest challenge to overcome as
we approach the future of widespread
adoption of automation, is how far the UK
lags behind international competition in
terms of robot density. There are three
key areas that we must focus on if we are
to propel UK manufacturing back to its
prominent position on the world stage:
perceptions of automation, skills and
funding.
British businesses are competing on a
world stage and we believe industrial
automation is fundamental to enabling
the UK’s capability of matching the
productivity of global manufacturers.
Following this approach means the
most effective way to boost industry as
a whole is to increase the number of
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
robot installations across all sectors.
This includes businesses that have been
traditionally more receptive, such as with
the automotive sector, but also in other
areas such as the medical, food and
beverage, and plastics sectors, and any
business associated with manufacturing
processes, which have yet to embrace
the productivity and other benefits of
automation.
Justification for automation is often
underpinned by the need to increase
productivity or profit. Traditionally, UK
companies have taken a piecemeal
approach to automation, implementing
incremental improvements into the
manufacturing process, which have
helped generate financial returns
in relatively short periods. Globally,
manufacturers overseas allow long
periods to achieve a return on investment,
which has meant that much larger line
or factory type automation projects have
developed with much greater longer-term
returns generated. It seems the rest of
the world takes a more positive approach
to “go big or go home”.
Fear of change, especially with regards
to technology uptake, is present
among many people working in the UK
manufacturing sector, but this can be
addressed through training. Our attitude
is that robots replace roles not people,
and removing a labour-intensive element
of someone’s job with a new skill such
as programming will offer much more
long-term value and purpose. Access
to the latest technology is available to
help businesses grow and they have a
responsibility to help companies take
advantage of the opportunities within UK
manufacturing.
43
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

The progression of IoT software also

presents an opportunity to quickly
improve the efficiency of a manufacturing
process. FANUC’s Field System, for
example, collects, keeps, and processes a
wide range of production data at source,
on the shop floor, so FIELD provides
operators with access to highly accurate
real-time data and analytics.

If British manufacturing is to continue

to be globally competitive, it is critical
that the productivity gains associated
with automation are utilised and the
subsequent growth of those businesses
realised. However, this prominent
position cannot be achieved through
a singular approach. Government,
educators, and R&D centres need to
support manufacturers which intend
to invest in automation. It would be
beneficial for robot suppliers to ensure
their offerings are appropriate for each
customer. Overall, the industry as a whole
must take a collaborative approach.

In conclusion, the benefits of automation

and robotics are being seen across
multiple industries, with it being
recognised that collaboration is key
to achieving increased productivity
levels across sectors in the UK. SMEs
represent a large proportion of potential
automation and robotics adoption, and
thus require support in introducing new
technology into their supply chains.
Labour and skills shortages are a main
challenge when it comes to adoption,
as opposed to an aversion to robotics
and automation systems or lack of jobs
available. Adapting to these challenges
is essential in order to maintain, let
alone grow, manufacturing industry, and
training packages must be supported by
businesses and government alike.

44
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

45
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

CASE STUDY

End-of-line automation picks up productivity at

Zidac Laboratories
An anticipated rise in demand for
Portsmouth-based Zidac Laboratories’
products meant that existing production
lines would struggle to cope with the
rapid surge in demand, potentially leading
to a shortfall in important products in the
fight against coronavirus.
Alongside hand sanitiser, Zidac
Laboratories are also specialists in mask
relief spray, surface disinfectant, and a
range of personal care products that all
form part of a safety-critical portfolio.
This meant that any form of factory
closure was out of the question. Jurica
Weissbarth, Managing Director at Zidac
Laboratories, explains, “We needed to
ensure the health and safety of our staff,
which meant making adjustments to
our facility in order to maintain effective
social distancing. We also couldn’t afford
to reduce capacity or output, which was
why we decided to invest in automation.”
Given it was the first piece of end-of-line
automation to be implemented into its
factory, Zidac Laboratories turned to
Solent Automation to deliver the perfect
solution. Following an assessment of
Zidac Laboratories’ production line, two
FANUC LR Mate 200iD industrial robots
were specified, supplemented by a
FANUC M20iA and a M710iC to improve
productivity in the packaging element of
the operation.
“It took just eight weeks from receiving
the order through to having a fully-
functional robotics system in place. This
was crucial for Zidac Laboratories given
the developing situation with regards
to COVID-19 in the UK. The fact that the
solutions were standardised also meant
that it was a straightforward case of
moving the cells on a forklift to where
they needed to be with the facility.”
Jurica continues: “The robots systems
made sure that we could be a COVID-
secure factory, where staff remained 2m
apart at all times. Even while we have
prioritised the safety of our staff, end-of-
line automation has allowed us to double
production output, and has proved vital
over the last 12 months in continuing to
deliver products to our customers.
“It has also had a transformative effect
on employee wellbeing. Not just from the
perspective of enabling them to continue
working in a safe way, but it’s also meant
they are doing less labour-intensive
tasks. The robot systems are doing the
heavy lifting and repetitive jobs, ultimately
improving the day-to-day working life of
our staff.”

Scott Sidwell, Chief Technical Officer

at Solent Automation, explains: “One
of the major benefits of standardised
automation is the speed with which it
can be installed. We programmed the
FANUC cells on Zidac products at our
own premises, which meant that when we
delivered them to site they were ready to
operate straight away.

46
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

“ONE OF THE MAJOR BENEFITS OF

STANDARDISED AUTOMATION IS THE SPEED WITH
WHICH IT CAN BE INSTALLED. WE PROGRAMMED
THE FANUC CELLS ON ZIDAC PRODUCTS AT OUR
OWN PREMISES, WHICH MEANT THAT WHEN WE
DELIVERED THEM TO SITE THEY WERE READY TO
OPERATE STRAIGHT AWAY.”
Scott Sidwell
Chief Technical Officer, Solent Automation

47
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

KEY ISSUES
The following section reviews some of the key issues that face the
adoption of automation and robotics in industry. Many different
factors influence the landscape of the manufacturing sector, and the
following areas have a large impact on the future of automation and
robotics, from ensuring the skills are available, to publicising the
outcomes. Experts in each area have provided their perspective on
how automation and robotics are viewed and supported.

48

3.1 EDUCATION
PROFESSOR PHIL WEBB, CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY
When considering the provision of
education and training in automation
and robotics, we first need to ask
some questions; what is robotics and
automation, is it actually a discrete
subject area, and what does a robotics
and automation engineer look like? The
answer to this is not straightforward as it
depends on many variables such as the
types of hardware and the applications
that we are working with. The National
Careers Service1 gives ‘Robotics
Engineer’ the subtitle ‘Automation
Engineer’ and defines it as ‘Robotics
engineers design and build machines
to do automated jobs in industries like
manufacturing, aerospace and medicine’.
But this statement is simplistic, as it
does not differentiate between the types
of application domain and physical
environment in which the engineer or
technician are working. In manufacturing,
the robotics engineer is usually
contributing to a wider automation
system but equally, an automated system
may not contain a single discrete robot
but use common techniques such as
sensing, AI, or control. Alternately, an
engineer working in the service industry
may be purely focused on robots and their
implementation as standalone systems.
Thus, there is a potential disconnect
and blurring between automation and
robotics.
1  Robotic Engineer https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/robotics-engineer
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Historically most robotics engineers
and technicians have had backgrounds
in electrical or mechanical engineering,
but as robotics has become more
widespread and sophisticated, more are
being drawn from computer science and
from non-engineering disciplines such
as psychology and human factors. It is
probably true to say that the majority
are still from engineering backgrounds,
particularly at technician level, but with
the increasing interest in more human-
in-the-loop automation and robotics, it
is likely that the number with psychology
and social science influences will
increase. We therefore need to consider
how we can provide sufficient breadth
of knowledge at the required levels and
how we need to structure educational
approaches to give a ‘systems’ view and
appreciation that is accessible to as wide
a spectrum of backgrounds as possible.
Our focus here is on manufacturing but
this should not constrain ourselves, or
indeed allow education providers and
government to fall into the existing trap
that manufacturing automation and
robotics are relatively unsophisticated
compared with the service robot sector,
which attracts much greater attention.
49
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

50

There are a range of potential different
educational provisions for manufacturing
and industrial robotics and automation,
for example apprenticeships, higher
education and further education. There is
also an increasing interest in introducing
robotics in schools alongside the drive
to build a more technology literate
and aware population. These are to be
commended and certainly act as a primer
and way of steering young people towards
not only robotics, but also engineering,
as a career. The modern apprenticeship
is often cited by government as the ‘way
forward’ to overcome skills shortages
in industry, but it is interesting to note
that there are currently no recognised
standards for robotics apprenticeships2.
The assumption has possibly been
that other standards that are more
electromechanically and maintenance-
based are appropriate, which perhaps
reinforces the view that robotics is not
in itself a ‘discipline’. It may also be
that they were originally biased towards
traditional technician type roles, but
this is open to challenge. Technicians
working in robotics are often required
to work with complex systems and
need to be able to master multiple
specialist skills such as programming
and knowledge of AI, as well as more
traditional craft skills. The development
of level 6 and level 7 apprenticeships is
likely to further increase the need for
a separate standard. The situation with
BTEC is different and there are a large
number of courses at level 3 and 4, which
either focus on robotics, or contain a
high percentage of material applicable
to robotics. It is also worth considering
that these are likely to be an adjunct
to an apprenticeship and a possible
answer in part to the gap mentioned
earlier. At undergraduate level there are
2  Search the Apprenticeship Standards https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/
3  UCAS https://digital.ucas.com/coursedisplay/results/providers?searchTerm=Robotics&studyYear=2022&destination=Undergrad-
uate&postcodeDistanceSystem=imperial&pageNumber=1&sort=ProviderAtoZ&clearingPreference=NextYear
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
a significant number of courses (240
are currently listed by UCAS for entry
in the academic year 2022/2023), that
are either badged as robotics degrees
or contain a high proportion of robotics.
The number of these is growing every
year as universities recognise that this
is a potential growth area. However, only
a small number of these courses have
a focus on manufacturing and industrial
robotics, and closer analysis shows
that some of the courses listed have a
relatively low robotics content, with the
robotics tag being used for marketing
purposes. At Masters level the situation
is quite similar, with 54 courses listed
for academic year 2022/2023. Most of
these courses are taught as conversion
courses with graduates coming in with
strong engineering backgrounds. This
may also explain why there are a number
that are specifically focused more towards
manufacturing automation and industry
(e.g. Aberdeen, Cranfield and Sheffield
Hallam).3
So, in summary, there are some good
educational offerings and opportunities,
but the overall structure is fragmented
and there is no apparent consensus on
what industrial robotics looks like from
an educational perspective, or indeed
from an industry perspective. It is
imperative that industry and academia
come together through routes such as
the apprenticeship standards and develop
a more unified and coherent definition,
and consensus, of what skills the robotics
and automation engineers of the future
need and what differentiates them. The
professional institutions also have a role
to play, but with the complication that
the discipline is claimed by both IMechE
(Institute of Mechanical Engineers)
and IET (Institute of Engineering and
Technology), perhaps rightly so.
51
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
3.2 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
DR NIELS LOHSE, LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY
Most of the basic research and concept
development related to automation and
robotics is funded by the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council
(EPSRC) in the UK2. Projects typically
focus on early research at Technology
Readiness Level (TRL) 1 to 3, whereas
Innovate UK is funding translational
projects that focus on TRL4 to 6. There
is also a growing number of dedicated
Research and Technology Organisations
(RTOs) such as the Catapult Centres,
which also focus on accelerating the
translation of successful proof of concept
work (TRL3) to unlock their industrial
potential.
The European Commission (EC), through
its new Horizon Europe framework
programme, is also funding collaborative
research projects addressing challenges
in automation and robotics. The European
Research Council (ERC) is funding
fundamental research (TRL1-4), while
topical Research Actions (RA) and
Research and Innovation Actions (RIA)
focus on TRL4-6 and TRL5-7 respectively.
1  All data is based on EPSRC grants: https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOChooseTTS.aspx?Mode=ResearchArea&ItemDesc=Robotics
Accessed: 14/09/2021
2 https://epsrc.ukri.org/funding/
52
1
Looking at the UK funding landscape, the
most relevant automation and robotics
projects are generally associated with
the EPSRC research topic ‘Robotics
& Autonomy’. Other topics, such as
‘Manufacturing Machine & Plant’ and
increasingly ‘Artificial Intelligence’, also
cover some relevant research. All three
are currently in the top 10 of research
topics by funding (Automation & Robotics:
£233m, Manufacturing Machine &
Plant: £425m, and Artificial Intelligence:
£603m). Automation and robotics has a
much lower number of funded projects
(93) compared to the others (254 and
310, respectively). This is reflecting the
fact that a proportional larger number
of higher value projects have recently
been awarded in the automation and
robotics topic area. This includes eight
programme grants totalling £48m, five
Research Hubs totalling £74m including
associated Nodes, and eight Centres for
Doctorial Training (CDT) totalling $43m.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

70

60

50
FUNDING (£M)

40

30

20

10

0
CDT
HUB

PROGRAMME

STANDARD

NODE

FELLOWSHIP

MADE SMARTER
INNOVATION

PLATFORM

NEW INVESTIGATOR

NETWORK

INSTRUMENTATION

TRAINING

TYPES OF PROJECT

Total Funding Automation Related

Figure 3: EPSRC A&R project funding by project type

53
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
Four of the five Research Hubs focus on
robotics and AI for harsh environments,
and the most recent Hub with four Nodes
focuses on Trustworthy Autonomous
Systems (£27.2m). Two of the harsh
environments Hubs focus on robotics
challenges for nuclear environments
(£26.9m), one on offshore robotics
challenges (£17.1m), and one on space
robotics challenges (£8.5m). Most of
the CDTs focus on general robotics and
autonomous systems research except
for the CDT for Embedded Intelligence
(Loughborough) and the CDT for Agri-
Food Robotics (Lincoln). This clearly
demonstrates a strong commitment
to further training in fundamental
robotics, but it is less obvious how this
will translate to more industry focused
automation and robotics research and
innovation skills.
Analysing the aims and objectives of
the current EPSRC project portfolio in
automation and robotics, less than 25%
(by funding) directly focus on industrial
automation and robotics topics. Only
a small number of projects, mostly
related to manufacturing, entirely focus
on industrial automation challenges.
Most notably, a new ‘Made Smarter
Innovation - Research Centre for Smart,
Collaborative Industrial Automation’
(£4.8m) has recently been funded as
part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge
Fund (ISCF). Other projects focus on
‘High-accuracy robotic system for
precise object manipulation (HARISOM)’,
‘Human Centred Robotics for Next-
generation Flexible Manufacturing’,
‘Industrial Robots-as-a-Service (IRaaS)’,
‘huMAN-inspired robotic MANipulation
for advanced MANufacturing (MAN^3)’,
‘Robotic disassembly technology as a key
enabler of autonomous remanufacturing’,
and ‘Visual-Tactile Synergy for Handling
Flexible Materials’.
54
A proportion of the research effort in
automation and robotics is focused on
specific sectors such as healthcare
robotics, autonomous driving, and
aerial drones that are often not directly
transferable for industrial automation
and robotics. Other projects focus on
fundamental topics such as verification
and validation, perception, autonomy,
grasping, manipulation, and human-
robot interaction. Clearly many of these
topics, while often investigated in a
more service-robotics context, have
the potential to increase the capability
of industrial automation and robotics
systems.
It is good to see that several new
investigator awards, supporting early
career academics, focus more on
industrial automation and robotics topics,
which perhaps indicates a change in
emphasis away from pure fundamental
robotics.
Unsurprisingly, many new research
projects focus to some degree on
exploring emerging new AI approaches
to solve robotics challenges. Others
focus on emerging sensing and actuation
technologies such as soft robotics and
tactile sensing.
Looking at the industry sector
involvement in automation and robotics
projects, ‘Aerospace, Defence and
Marine’ (~16%) is leading, followed
by ‘Information Technologies’ (~14%),
‘Manufacturing’ (~12%), and ‘Healthcare’
(~12%). ‘Construction’ (~3%) is a growth
sector whereas other sectors, such
as agri-food, are currently not clearly
tracked by EPSRC.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

40

35

30

25
FUNDING (£M)

20

15

10

0
ENERGY

TECHNICAL CONSULTANCY
ENVIRONMENT
AEROSPACE, DEFENCE AND MARINE

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES

MANUFACTURING

HEALTHCARE

TRANSPORT SYSTEMS AND VEHICLES

GENERIC

FOOD

CONSTRUCTION

ELECTRONICS

WATER

R&D

CHEMICALS

RETAIL

COMMUNICATIONS

SECTORS (EPSRC CLASSIFICATION)

Total Funding Automation Related

Figure 4: EPSRC A&R proportional amount of funding related to sectors based on

project classifications

In conclusion, it appears that there by industry. Involvement of small and

might be a disproportionate emphasis on medium sized enterprises (SMEs) should,
service-robotics type challenges, or very however, be further encouraged. Overall,
sector specific projects such as the harsh developing more ‘manufacturing’ and also
environments emphasis, for most of the ‘construction’ sector focused robotics
big Research Hubs that make up around projects is likely going to have the biggest
20% EPSRC automation and robotics impact on increasing industrial robotics
funding. Likewise, it is positive to see that and automation focused research and
many projects appear to be supported innovation.

55
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

3.3 NETWORKS SUPPORTING ROBOTICS

IN THE UK
GEOFF PEGMAN, RUROBOTS

UK and European non-profit networks provide support to

stakeholders with a dynamic approach of support, in-keeping with
the constantly changing automation and robotics landscape. The
list of networks found here is neither comprehensive nor stable, but
representative of some of the key networks and associations relevant
to the manufacturing community.

56
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

57
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
United Kingdom
BARA
The British Automation and Robot
Association is the longest established
robot association in the UK and
represents industrial robot manufacturers
and system integrators in the promotion
of robot use in industry. The membership
of BARA is corporate and primarily
industrial based, although it does have
academic members. BARA undertakes
activities that support the uptake of
robotics and automation in the UK and
the dissemination of best practice on
the adoption of robotics. BARA provides
expert guidance on the use of robotics,
runs seminars and webinars on robotics
use and safety issues, and also runs
a certification programme for system
integrators.
BARA is now part of the PPMA group of
associations and, as such, is an active
co-organiser of the PPMA Show.1
NATIONAL ROBOTICS NETWORK
NRN is an end-user led network aimed
at championing the adoption of robotics
across a wide range of industries through
the development of robust, multi-sector
supply chains. The aim is to increase the
uptake of robotics in the UK through the
provision of more cost-effective robotics
solutions brought about by, to the extent
that is possible, de-siloing application
specific robotics products and systems.
The NRN organises topic workshops and
has funded the production a landscape
document focusing on common end-user
robotics developments and is working on
a multi-sector robotics roadmap.
Membership of the NRN is corporate and
open to end-users, technology providers
and academics.2
1 https://www.ppma.co.uk/bara.html
2 http://www.nationalroboticsnetwork.org/
58
ROBOTICS GROWTH PARTNERSHIP
The Robotics Growth Partnership is a
government-sponsored network bringing
together government, industry and
academia to develop an action plan to
bring the disparate parts of the robotics
community and push the development of
robotics and smart machines. The RGP
membership has been working on the
development of a white paper outlining
the action plan and has held a number
of consultation workshops with various
stakeholder groups.
The remit of the RGP is fairly wide
covering, which includes, amongst other
things, the creation of digital assets and
a proving ground for facilities supporting
development of robotics and smart
systems, as well as addressing education
and training issues.
Membership of the RGP is currently by
invitation only.
KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER NETWORK
The Knowledge Transfer Network aims to
spur innovation in the UK by connecting
researchers, developers and end users
and to encourage the efficient exchange
of information. The Robotics and Artificial
Intelligence Innovation Network (formerly
the RAS SIG) is a network of primarily
industrialists and academics aiming to
increase the innovation capacity of UK
industry through the use of robotics and
AI. It does this through workshops, white
papers and the RAI Showcase, the UK’s
largest conference promoting the use of
robotics and AI technologies in industry.
In its previous guise as the RAS SIG, the
network published the RAS 2020 Robotics
and Autonomous Systems Strategy
which laid out a UK robotics strategy
and roadmap. Recently the RAI-IN has

developed an online robotics landscape
tool3 which shows major UK robotics
players and resources.
Membership of the RAI Innovation
Network is on an individual basis, but
only open to representatives of corporate
bodies (both industrial and academic).
UK-RAS NETWORK
The UK Robotics and Autonomous System
Network is an academic network with
the primary aim of providing academic
leadership in RAS, expand collaboration
with industry, and integrating and
coordinating activities at several high-
profile academic RAS centres in the UK.
The UK-RAS network also promotes the
awareness of robotics to both industry
and the general public, primarily through
a series of white papers and the high-
profile UK Robotics Festival. It also holds
an annual RAS conference and supports
robotics competitions in schools.
Membership of UK-RAS is open to UK
Universities.4
IET ROBOTICS & MECHATRONICS
TECHNICAL NETWORK
The Institute of Engineering Technology is
a professional organisation with the aim
of influencing the engineering community
in the advancement of engineering,
promoting engineering to the government
and society at large, and supporting
individual professional development. The
membership of the IET is drawn from
both academia and industry.
The IET Robotics and Mechatronics
technical network exists to promote
robotics & mechatronics both to the
engineering community and to the wider
public. Its main activities are seminars,
often hosted by its regional networks, and
publications.
3 https://ktn-uk.org/programme/rai-landscape/
4 https://www.ukras.org/members/apply-for-membership/
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
Europe
There are many robotics focussed
networks situated in Europe. However,
most have a national or regional focus.
This sub-section highlights two that are
open to UK participation.
EU-ROBOTICS
eu-Robotics is an industry / academia
network originally set up as the
private side of the Robotics Public -
Private Partnership (SPARC) to guide
the European Commission in the
development of the €700m robotics work
programme in Horizon 2020.
eu-Robotics produced two comprehensive
Roadmaps which have not only guided
the H2020 work programme, but have
also been adopted by several industrial
companies as the basis for their own
robotics developments.
In recent years the remit of eu-Robotics
has widened to include the development
of a roadmap to enhance the uptake
of robotics by European industry
(particularly focussing on the non-AI
areas of robotics), and to undertake
awareness and promotional activities
for industry, policy makers, press and
the general public. The work with the
European Commission continues to be a
core mission of eu-Robotics and eu-
Robotics has become a founder member,
along with four other associations, of
a new association (The AI, Data and
Robotics Association - ADRA) which will
work with the Commission on developing
the work programme for the expanded
Horizon Europe programme.
Membership of ADRA is also open to
corporate members.
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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

The core membership activity are
the Topic Groups, which encompass
application, technology and societal
topics. The topic groups produce
information briefing papers and mini-
roadmaps which contribute to the
overall roadmap development. Other
key activities are the European Robotics
Forum, which is the largest annual
gathering of robotics professionals in
Europe; European Robotics Week, which
is focussed on promoting robotics to
the general public; and the European
Robotics League, which promotes
robotics competitions in Europe.
Membership of eu-Robotics is open to
corporate members from both academia
and industry. The constitution of
eu-Robotics ensures that all major
decision require a majority of both the
academic and industry partners and that
each type of vote has equal weighting.5
its own agenda and, in general, there
is little communication between the
networks. This can lead to a lack of
a coherent representation of the UK
robotics sector to external groups such
as the financial sector, trade bodies and,
most significantly, government. This lack
of cohesion and the sometimes confusing
and mixed messaging does mean that
robotics in the UK does not achieve the
recognition and support that it deserves
and certainly requires to achieve success.
To maximise their collective effect,
these various groups should interact
more actively, firstly to ensure they truly
represent the wide range of activities and
businesses operating in UK robotics, and
secondly to provide a clear and consistent
message to government and relevant
external groups to drive the development
of the UK robotics sector forward.

EUNITED ROBOTICS SECTOR

EUnited Robotics Sector is an industrial
network with the primary focus of
promoting robotics in Europe and has
an industrial robotics focus. It has a key
lobbying role and aims to communicate
the industry view on relevant policy and
funding issues. It produces position
papers on robotics related issues.6

Membership is open to industry members

from the robotics sector including robot
manufacturers, component suppliers and
system integrators.

As can be seen, there are a number

of active networks in the UK which
represent and coordinate activities for
stakeholders in the sector. There are
overlaps between the groups which does
lead to some companies and individuals
participating in more than one network.
Each of the networks tends to promote

5 https://www.eu-robotics.net/eurobotics/about/index.php?idart=29
6 https://www.eu-nited.net/eunited+aisbl/about-eunited/index.html

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3.4 TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
PROFESSOR SAM TURNER, HVMC
The UK lags behind most of its global
peers in terms of technology adoption,
in particular in robotics and automation,
with the UK not featuring in the top 20
nations for industrial robotics deployment
(measured by robot density).1
The Made Smarter review in 20172
reviewed barriers to adoption of
industrial digital technologies, including
advanced automation. The review cited
lack of skills, uncertainty in selecting
trusted partners and suppliers, and a
lack of clarity on the business case as
primary barriers. These three issues still
appear to be highly relevant today. The
business case question is one that often
prevents manufacturers from setting
out to invest in automation. For mid-tier
manufacturers, a lack of certainty of order
book and long term contracts makes
the investment decision harder, and the
recent crisis has led to a shortage of cash
in manufacturing businesses, putting
further pressure on the ability to invest
in automation and robotics technology.
Larger businesses with greater certainty
on order book and available capital do
not have the same issue. In addition,
larger manufacturers invest in R&D
(Research and Development) and
often have manufacturing engineering
functions with the required skills to
engage with suppliers and integrators,
and commission and own automation
solutions once in place. All of these
advantages and investments for larger
manufacturers are born of greater
confidence in future order book, clear
‘make vs buy’ strategy and leadership that
understands and believes in investment in
technology as essential to drive business
performance.
1  UK Manufacturing The Facts 2020/21. Make UK and Santander, 10th September 2020
2  Made Smarter review, 2017
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
The COVID-19 crisis and Brexit have also
brought different pressures on some
manufacturing businesses in terms of
the availability of its workforce. In terms
of Covid working, this was largely a
short term issue, with manufacturing
businesses needing to get ‘back to rate’
without full workforce availability and
with distancing restrictions in place.
Some sectors, in particular food & drink,
have faced staff shortages post Brexit that
have heightened the need for automation.
The pull towards increased automation
is also likely to create higher skilled
jobs for maintenance, programmers and
integrators.
To enable an increase in automation
adoption, manufacturers need access to
trusted support to evaluate which parts of
the business are most ripe for automation
and robotics and to help to develop the
business case for investment.
Supporting manufacturers with the
relevant skills is at the heart of this
issue and those skills are required
within different parts of the business.
Firstly, leadership teams need support
in understanding the opportunities that
automation and robotics technology can
bring to their business, such that they
can identify the priority use cases for
investment, and they also need support in
building an appropriate investment case
that includes reskilling of operational
and engineering staff. Many automation
projects fail due to a dependency on
the skills of the supplier or integrator,
meaning that when the project is
complete the expertise to maintain or
maximise value from the investment has
not taken root in the business. This is the
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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

second critical area for skills support;
training the engineering, operational and
maintenance staff who will ensure that
the solutions deliver the return and may
start to identify additional opportunities
for investment within the business.
Investment support for businesses is also
important; lenders who understand the
investment case and who can support
companies who don’t have long term
order books are essential to break
out of the spiral of under investment,
declining productivity and lost orders
or margin. Educating the finance
community is important to make sure
that funds are available and that lenders
can in turn educate and support their
customers. Government support and
incentives for the finance community
to support medium term investment in
manufacturing businesses are needed to
share some of the risk and extend beyond
the likes of the British Business Bank to
high street lenders.
There is an important role to play for
Government through initiatives such as
Made Smarter, which need to be scaled
to provide the support to manufacturers
in adopting technology, providing
access to required skills, and workforce
development and safe environments for
solution providers and manufacturers
alike to test, develop and de-risk the
deployment of solutions.
Building clusters of manufacturers with
the skills, finance and confidence to invest
alongside automation providers and
integrators can start to stimulate more
competitive UK supply chains. The HVM
Catapult network can provide the trusted
support to manufacturers; demonstrating
solutions to relatable problems, advising
on potential use cases for investment and
connecting to like-minded manufacturers
or solutions providers and integrators.
There is also a role to be played, working
with integrators and providers to make
sure that solutions are available that
address the most common manufacturing
challenges, whether that be productivity,
responsiveness or quality. The co-
development and demonstration of
affordable and deployable solutions
targeting the broad base of UK
manufacturers who have underinvested,
and support for a healthy supply base of
integrators, will make large inroads into
the UK automation and robotics adoption
challenge.

Whilst UK manufacturers can achieve

great productivity gains from deploying
currently available technology, there is
also an opportunity to create more UK
home-grown solutions, fusing automation
and AI and developing affordable
solutions targeting the UK market.

62
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
3.5 FINANCING AND THE ATTITUDE TO INVESTMENT
DAVID ATKINSON, LLOYDS BANK
UK business investment has remained
below that of key competing economies
in recent years, and the uncertainty
driven by Brexit, and more recently by
the response to the global pandemic, has
created additional downward pressure.
Perhaps as a result of suppressed levels
of investment, UK productivity has also
been identified as a challenge remaining
below par when viewed against other G7
economies.
As the UK economy moves towards the
recovery phase and growth returns,
reflections of the impact of both Brexit
and the pandemic response are creating
an inflection point in regard to business
investment.
64
The impact of the global pandemic
response has caused many business to
review their resilience and to consider
how they can “build back better” to better
protect them from future pandemics and
other similar economic shocks.
The context for this review is important.
Investment has been both lower and
slower as a result of recent events
creating a potential reserve of funding
for improved investment levels moving
forward. The cost of credit also remains
low, allowing firms to access additional
funding in cost effective ways and to
enable investment in a way that preserves
working capital and further aids business
resilience. As businesses review
their strategy to build resilience and
improve productivity, so too has the UK
Government moved to provide support for
business investment.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

65
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
Recent announcements have provided
significant and material incentives for
many businesses to invest in new plant
and machinery (P&M). The introduction
of the new “super deduction” allows
that qualifying businesses can access
tax deductions of up to 130% first year
relief on new P&M. The new regime
will remain in place until March 2023,
allowing time for both planning and
procurement of new potentially business
changing assets. Firms should seek
guidance from their accountants and
tax advisors. Similar improvements in
first year allowances also provide for
deductions of up to 50% for special rate
expenditure providing additional support
for new investment decisions1.
As the UK recovers post pandemic, and as
UK firms come to terms with a post Brexit
reality, productivity and resilience will
need to be key considerations. In a recent
Lloyds Bank survey, 51% of manufacturers
surveyed stated they had plans to increase
investment over the next 12 months2.
There will be a clear role for automation
and robotics as firms consider how best
to build their resilience and how they
can both boost productivity on socially
distanced factory floors, and meet the
anticipated growth demands reflected
in mid-2021 PMI reports (indicating
industries’ leaders anticipating order
book growth at strong levels). Other
economic confidence indicators must also
be considered, respecting the significant
historic and worsening skills shortages,
driving the focus on productivity outputs
through the use of automation and
robotics to improve their competitive edge
as they reach out to new markets and
review their operating models as we move
past recent events.
1 https://www.gov.uk/guidance/super-deduction
2  Internal Survey of Lloyds Bank SME Manufacturing Clients 2021
3 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/build-back-better-our-plan-for-growth
4 https://esg.org/
5  The Treasurer 2021 https://issuu.com/thinkpublishing/docs/act_the_treasurer_issue_2_2021/54
66
Sustainability has also become much
more urgent a consideration, driven by
events and the opportunity to act created
by the pandemic. The ‘Build Back Better’
initiative3 offers the chance to address
the sustainability challenge, and the ESG
(Environmental, Social, and Governance)4
agenda has become an additional key
consideration by both adding to the
imperative to invest, and challenging the
nature and focus of investment.
If larger corporates want to operate
and demonstrate fully improved carbon
footprints, they will need the whole of
their supply chains to buy in and adopt
good practices. It has already been
identified that the combined carbon
footprint of SMEs on upstream impact
is responsible for being up to 5.5 times
greater than corporate organisations5.
If SMEs don’t invest and utilise new
technology, with automation and
robotics seen as an integral part of those
strategies, they risk being left behind.
Therefore efficient, productive, and
resilient solutions will best support the
‘build back better’ approach and enable
firms to compete and thrive moving
forward.
Finance providers like Lloyds Bank have
significant interest in UK manufacturing
and invest heavily, both through investing
in industry to support skills development
through its £10m / 10-year strategic
partnership at the MTC to support the
training and upskilling of apprentices
& existing engineers, and having also
recently expanded the use of its Capital
Import Finance facility which removes the
risk of funding new plant and machinery
assets that they are buying from overseas
suppliers.

New and potentially complex equipment
can have extended lead times, and Capital
Import Finance provides a structured
solution to fund the initial costs and pre-
payments using trade finance solutions
and then to fund the assets, once
commissioned, over an agreed term using
asset finance. With the added protection
of trade instruments such as letters of
credit, the risks of acquiring potentially
complex plant and machinery from an
overseas supplier are reduced.
Looking to the future, investment in
automation and robotics to deliver
efficiency, productivity, and improve both
the UK’s competitive edge and progress
on sustainability, needs to be an action
for the many and not the few. Lloyds
Bank, in conjunction with our partners,
will continue to support clients in their
understanding of the practical and
financial opportunities that investment
in automation & robotics can deliver.
The current beneficial tax regime, which
we hope will continue, may provide an
incentive for more of industry’s finance
teams to join with their innovation and
production colleagues on the factory floor
to lead the charge to a more efficient
future.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
A great example of forward
thinking SMEs tackling this
recently is Newport-based SME
craft brewery, Tiny Rebel, that
has recently invested in new
canning and boxing lines to meet
growing and changing demand
patterns. The new automated
lines allow the business to
react more quickly to upticks
in demand and provide the
capacity to take opportunities to
grow revenues as their market
develops.
Purchased with the support of
an Asset Finance facility, the
assets will be funded over time,
reducing the impact on working
capital and allowing time for
revenue flows to improve as the
new machinery is commissioned
and becomes operational.
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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

3.6 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

PARESH PATEL, UNITE THE UNION

Unite the union is a ‘democratic and
campaigning’ union that protects
workers’ rights and supports employees
in the workplace. It represents over
300,000 manufacturing workers across
the economy, from automotive and
aerospace to chemicals, pharmaceuticals,
steel, print, packaging and general
engineering. As a result, the Union brings
the collective talent, experience and
industrial knowledge of our members,
shop stewards and officers to the
negotiating table with both employers and
government, where they build the union
organisation that workers need.
To do this they must consider our
demands for investment into: research
and development; ongoing skills
development; new greener technologies;
and future products, and take these
beyond the workplace to corporate and
government decision makers.

68
A NEW PERSPECTIVE

69
ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
This skill, experience and dedication has
been put to the test with the outbreak
of the coronavirus pandemic. Unite’s
priority throughout has been to protect
people’s lives, jobs and livelihoods –
achieving safety in the workplace and
winning government support for our
jobs, industries and local communities.
Unite’s ideas around ‘industrial strategy’
and a ‘green deal for manufacturing’
give a vision of what we can win through
a just transition for workers as we
recover and rebuild a better future for
all. This encompasses a range of social
interventions that are necessary to
secure workers’ rights and job security
by providing opportunities as industry
changes, for example upskilling and
reskilling when economies move to
sustainable production as a result of
climate change.
Unite’s 10 point plan addresses long-term
industrial strategy and includes reference
to automation adoption. Point 8 outlines
that, “Artificial Intelligence and other
technological advances will only benefit
the whole of society if linked to strong
protections and advances for workers.
This includes job security, shorter
working time, job sharing without loss
of pay, opportunities for reskilling and
democratic oversight over information
gathered about us.”1
1  Manufacturing Matters - Fighting the Future of UK Manufacturing. An Industrial Strategy Published byt the Unite Manufacturing
Combine. https://www.unitetheunion.org/media/3196/9121_manufacturing-matters-strategy_final.pdf
70
The speed and nature of technological
developments recently has led to talk of a
new wave of automation termed ‘Industry
4.0’. Technological advances, especially
in robotics, sensors, AI and cloud
computing, are driving this movement.
In ‘The Future of Employment: How
susceptible are jobs to computerisation?’
Dr Michael Osborne and Dr Carl Benedikt
Frey state that automation could lead to
35% of UK jobs being lost within the next
two decades. A trend that is likely to have
accelerated as a result of the pandemic,
as our use of technology has increased.
We have to make sure new technology,
from ‘collaborative’ robots to AI and
biometrics, is not a route to ‘competitive
gains’ at workers’ expense.
Unite is clear that to avoid the worst
case scenarios, workers and their trade
unions must play a central role in the
implementation of new technology
(any innovation that affects the jobs
of workers), with associated ‘New
Technology Agreements’, and share the
rewards.
Unions and good employers recognise
that the introduction of new technology
can present challenges and opportunities.
To this end, employers and unions must
agree, via a New Technology Agreement,
that the introduction of new technology
should not be made unilaterally but by
mutual agreement, monitored by Shop
Stewards, with time and resources to
engage in issues arising.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

The employer needs to agree to work
actively to use new technology for the
benefit of all within the organisation,
including both directly and indirectly
employed workers. The following
principles are some that both the
employer and the union must agree on:
• The introduction and control of new
technology on the shop floor will
only be made with agreement of the
employer and the union on behalf of
its affected members.
New technology is going to generate a lot
of wealth. Unite is developing a political-
industrial strategy for a future that works,
fighting to ensure this wealth is used
to help workers and their families, for
example by reducing work time without
loss of pay which can help workers
remain in work when new technology
reduces the number of human tasks to
be done. Automation needs to deliver for
ordinary people, not just make bigger
profits for corporations.3

• The employer will reinvest savings

from any introduction into areas that
promote or provide more jobs within
the organisation.

• New skills or responsibilities will be

recognised through negotiated pay
increases.

• That new technology will only be

introduced if the overall number of
jobs are protected and the benefit
to one group does not come at the
expense of another.

• Workers are ensured proper training

and are compensated for new skills.

• New technology introduction will be

fair and equal, with no negative health
and safety issues.

• New technology will be used, where

relevant, to create new jobs and
reduce working time, but not pay.2

2  Unite Work Voice Pay Guides – Draft New Technology Agreement https://www.unitetheunion.org/work-voice-pay/work-voice-pay-
guides/
3  ONS report on automation shows workers need radical response including a shorter working week https://www.unitetheunion.
org/news-events/news/2019/march/ons-report-on-automation-shows-workers-need-radical-response-including-a-shorter-work-
ing-week/

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72

3.7 MEDIA
WILL STIRLING, STIRLING MEDIA
Industry tends to think of automation
as “industrial automation”, a suite of
technology that automates manufacturing
processes including motors, drives,
controls, conveyors, cranes, sensors
and other equipment, that is separate
to robots. Robots form the most visible
segment of automation equipment and
attract media more than the other, more
prosaic hardware. This is because more
PR (press release activity) is created
about robots and people can associate
with robots more easily than, e.g. a
brushless DC motor. As a subjective
observation, the mainstream media
reports on robots first, but when the
media covers automation it tends to
focus on the automation of IT, the use of
artificial intelligence and automating jobs
and tasks in the economy, rather than the
industrial automation found in factories.
A NEW PERSPECTIVE
A feature of modern media coverage of
automation and robotics is the expansion
of terminology and crossover between
terms. Thirty years ago, a writer covering
a story on automation and robotics
would have industrial robots and some
factory automation like pallet loading
to choose from. Within the scope of
automation today there is artificial
intelligence, machine learning, big data,
neural computing, robots or ‘bots’ within
programmes to execute the algorithm,
collaborative robots and more. These
terms often get used side-by-side and
they are sometimes conflated. For
example, many articles comment on
robots as an essential part of “Industry
4.0” or connected factories. Industrial
robots have been in use since the 1960s
and, as such, robots are not necessarily
a “smart” technology – although the
sensors built into cobots make them
“smart”.
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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
For the topic of automation and robotics,
the press can be divided broadly into the
mainstream and the trade media.
If we consider that the core role of
automation and robotics in industry,
especially in manufacturing, is to increase
productivity, the mainstream media rarely
report this. Titles such as The Times,
The Financial Times (FT), The Guardian
and The Economist cover a far wider
thematic base of robot stories, especially
where robots affect society. Sensation and
shock sells newspapers, so they cover
themes like the impact of robots on jobs –
especially how they will take people’s jobs
– military robots, robot ethics, prosthetic
exoskeletons, automating supermarket
order picking, grocery delivery, artificial
means to taste food and more. Rarely
does the mainstream media print an
“industrial factory robot” story, unless
it is a novel application – for example
the FT ran stories on robots used in the
manufacture of solar panels and clothing
(Uniglo) – or about Ocado-style picking
robots. Robots and employment, and how
artificial intelligence will affect society
are the two most common robot topics in
the mainstream media.
Mainstream media robot stories are
regular but perhaps infrequent, given the
impact robots are having on society. For
stories featuring “robots”, The Guardian’s
coverage is low, with less than one story
a month (although their Google search
engine does not list articles in date
order), The Economist has between one
and seven a month, and The FT the most
robot stories, with 17 in one month in
2021.
1 https://www.theengineer.co.uk/bladebug-completes-successful-offshore-wind-trials/
74
The trade media – the B2B (Business-
to-Business) magazines covering
engineering, manufacturing and
automation content – are overwhelmingly
directed by press releases, content
they receive from robot and automation
suppliers that typically focus on factory
and productivity applications of robots.
Within this, editors say that content is
now approximately
75-80% on industrial robots and the
remainder on cobots. Applications like
surgical and medical robots, maintenance
and non-factory robots, feature very
little. The range of “wider automation
applications” in the trade press is
expanding, such as case studies on
automated robot welding, while the main
focus is still on moving parts into and
out of machines and pallet loading i.e.
replacing a low-skilled, erstwhile human
tasks.
The Engineer magazine takes a slightly
different approach to the manufacturing
magazines. Nearly all of its recent robot
content is about developing autonomous
systems in a range of industries including
agriculture, mining, military and
nuclear. These are then split between
land, air systems and sea systems. The
applications can include novel uses like
monitoring and maintenance, such as
the BladeBUG for remote monitoring of
offshore wind turbine blades, subsea
robots and rescue robots.1
Robots with eye-catching applications
typically get more media attention. The
hexapod microrobot for performing
maintenance inside aero-engines,
developed by Rolls-Royce, and the recent
future valuation of Cambridge Surgical
Robots to over £1 billion, both had wide
media coverage.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

So the mainstream press is covering a I recommend making more video-based

wider range of topics about robots, and case studies because more content today
favour stories that effect society and are is watched on video, and media titles all
controversial, such as the role of robots want high-quality video stories to boost
in the military and even whether robots readership and clicks.
can reproduce, while the trade press still
There is potentially a large amount of
focuses on factory-based automation
fresh, interesting content about robots
supplied by vendors, with a little variation
and automation, and their interaction
to non-factory applications and greater
with business and society. Ultimately,
recent coverage of “worktop-based”
once the journalist has written it, a good
cobots.
communicator is needed to promote the
To promote how robots improve story to publications proactively, not least
manufacturing productivity, there needs because editors do not simply publish
to be communication between industry, good press releases when they receive so
the automation and robotics lobby, and many every day.
the mainstream media. Policymakers,
research centres and PR companies
need to work harder on the stories’ big
selling points, majoring on the money,
time and even jobs the robot investment
has or will have to save the company. If
the automation and robotics lobby wants
to promote the idea that robots create
new jobs, it needs to create compelling
PR that explains how, with evidence, and
with support from industry. Some people
are suspicious that this is possible, given
that manufacturing employment has
declined steadily over time. “Robots saves
UK’s biggest food factory £3m a year –
and creates jobs” is a grabbing headline
because it appears counter-intuitive.

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Manufacturing is vital to the UK; it accounts for
over half the UK’s exports, and 65% of the nation’s
research and development. It is fundamental to
developing strong local economies within the
regions of the UK, and offers a strong foundation
around which other services and sectors are able
to flourish. The manufacturing sector provides jobs
with higher average pay compared to other UK
sectors and contributes to the development of the
skills base.
However there is an underlying need for a change
in strategy due to the perceived inevitability of
manufacturing moving overseas to lower cost
economies. Other countries have demonstrated
how living standards can be improved, whilst
at the same time growing the contribution of
manufacturing to their economy. As a result they
have overtaken the UK.
The pride we display in maintaining traditional
skills, processes and machines working
indefinitely has come at the expense of adopting
new technology and ways of working. However
there is an urgent need to change this approach;
increasing the use of automation and digitalisation
to ensure manufacturing can be competitive and
grow. Businesses that understand and embrace
the importance of quality, good processes and
innovation, with an ability to demonstrate an
attractive and robust culture to stakeholders, are
the ones that will prosper. Those that are agile
and able to react quickly to changing demands will
thrive, and automation and robotics solutions can
help to enable this.
It is in the best interests of UK engineering to
embrace a cultural change towards a more
ambitious, bolder investment strategy, starting
with the implementation of robotics and
automation. This does bring challenges, such
as the cost of purchasing new technology, the
change from manual to automated processes, and
a culture of fear around the technology replacing
people’s jobs. However, it is paramount that both
current and future generations can access training
that both reskills and upskills to compliment the
new technology being adopted.
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Although some sectors and larger businesses have
successfully implemented automation and robotics
solutions, adoption is not as prevalent further down
the supply chain. The benefits of automation and
robotics technologies are accessible throughout
the manufacturing supply chain and, with the
cost of adoption falling and implementation
and operation being simpler than ever before,
now is the time for UK manufacturing to adopt
these technologies. The adoption of automation
and robotics are becoming a necessity for any
business that wants to be competitive in the global
manufacturing market.
However it is acknowledged that the ability
to finance and plan for the implementation of
changes can be difficult, and often businesses have
taken a piecemeal approach. Plans for adoption
must be long term, achieving greater returns due
to bolder investments. Widespread adoption on a
national level will help the UK to become a bigger
presence, and a potential leader, on the global
industrial manufacturing stage.
By reviewing the input of the experts who have
contributed their knowledge and informed opinions
to the report, four key issues that would assist and
accelerate the future adoption of automation and
robotics have been identified. These are:
• Skills and education
• Finance
• Awareness
• Support
Within each of these issues, specific actions have
been identified from the contributions provided,
which will each help to progress the adoption of
automation and robotics within UK manufacturing.
The recommendations that follow are applicable
to all stakeholders including government,
technology providers, research and educational
establishments, the finance community and, not
least, manufacturers, and are intended to guide
relevant policy and future initiatives.
 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

SKILLS AND EDUCATION

There is a general understanding that the lack of knowledge and
skills within manufacturing, to procure, implement and operate
automation and robotics systems, is a major issue.

RECOMMENDATION 1
Demystify automation and robotics technology for businesses,
employees, users, and the public through educational material,
providing a basic understanding of what automation and robotics is,
from a manufacturing perspective, and demonstrating how adoption
will benefit.

RECOMMENDATION 2
Bring industry, education, academia and the professional institutions
together to determine a coherent definition and consensus on the
skills and education that are necessary to provide industry with
the tools required to meet future needs, particularly in relation to
automation and robotics.

RECOMMENDATION 3
Support and extend robotics exposure in schools, and enhance
pathways into engineering education, using robotics as a vehicle
to encourage students, with the objective of increasing the output
of engineering technicians and graduates with awareness of
automation.

RECOMMENDATION 4
Develop short courses or similar packages to provide the opportunity
for manufacturing businesses to upskill their existing staff with
the capability to implement and operate automation and robotics
systems. These must be developed and delivered in a way that
provides easy access and minimises disruption to existing workplace
activities.

RECOMMENDATION 5
Research activities on industrial automation and robotics application
need to be enhanced with a focus on solutions that can potentially
be used across multiple applications and sectors. Increased effort is
needed to achieve communication with potential adopters to ensure
these developments are exploited.

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

FINANCE
RECOMMENDATION 1
Ensure the finance community has a better understanding of
the benefits of automation and robotics, and is willing to support
longer-term investment strategies in manufacturing businesses.
Partnerships between lenders who can support long term
investments and businesses who are looking to adopt automation and
robotics technology should be developed.

RECOMMENDATION 2
Government should continue to provide tax reliefs which are targeted
at supporting investment in manufacturing plant equipment,
including robotics and automation.

RECOMMENDATION 3
Guidance and support should be provided to businesses to both
identify the most appropriate areas for investment in robotics and
automation, and particularly to develop the business case to support
these investments.

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 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

AWARENESS
RECOMMENDATION 1
A concerted effort must be made to address the fear of change and
the perceived threat of unemployment through an awareness activity
explaining the benefits of automation and robotics adoption. We
should be building a consensus, when considering the adoption of
new technology, which must involve all the relevant stakeholders
including government, unions and trade bodies, working in
cooperation with the media to ensure accurate and representative
information is presented.

RECOMMENDATION 2
The technology vendors working with the manufacturing sector,
relevant trade bodies and the media must ensure accessible
information is made available to support the above recommendation,
including video-based case studies and high quality images, to
increase awareness and engage a wider audience.

RECOMMENDATION 3
Better communication between the various networks, in the broadest
sense, should be established to enable coherent representation from
the UK robotics sector to external groups. This should be extended to
cover all interested parties to enable all stakeholders, including the
manufacturing sector, to learn from each other through collaboration
and shared knowledge, ensuring that the most is being made of the
automation and robotics technology that is available.

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ROBOTICS AND AUTOMATION

SUPPORT
Often manufacturers approach the automation vendors wishing to
automate, but without a clear understanding of how they should
approach the challenge. Given the significant impact automation can
have on a business, it is important that it is approached and executed
correctly.

RECOMMENDATION 1
Support should be provided to UK manufacturing businesses in
the whole process of adopting automation, from the first steps
of identifying the appropriate applications and gaining workforce
support and involvement, through to developing the business case
and producing a requirements specification, to the selection of an
appropriate supplier and the implementation of the solution. This
support should be provided by independent organisations such as
the MTC and its partner centres in the High Value Manufacturing
Catapult.

RECOMMENDATION 2
Provide ways to achieve collaboration and knowledge sharing across
manufacturing industry and the automation supply chain to develop,
demonstrate, test and de-risk affordable and deployable automation
solutions, targeting the broad base of UK manufacturers who have
under-invested.

RECOMMENDATION 3
Specific encouragement for SMEs to adopt automation and robotics
technology, perhaps by extending the reach of the ‘Made Smarter’
programme.

RECOMMENDATION 4
Build on and extend existing networks to enable sharing of knowledge
and information across industry, not just manufacturing, to learn from
previous failings and identify new ways for robotics and automation to
be used to solve problems and deliver improvements in productivity
and skills. Ensure that this applies to all stages of the supply chains
and that automation and robotics adoption is encouraged at all levels.

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 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

The growth of manufacturing is important for the future

prosperity of the UK. To achieve this growth we need to improve
our competitiveness and productivity. The enhanced adoption of
automation and robotics is a key requirement and must be addressed
at all levels in the supply chains throughout the manufacturing sector.
SMEs especially must be supported in investing in new technology,
and the development of the relevant skills, otherwise they risk being
left behind.

Evidence1 2 shows that automation and robotics will increase rather

than decrease employment, but the issue must be handled sensitively
and form part of a national debate. Automation and robotics adoption
needs to be an action of the many, not the few. This report is intended
to encourage debate, and we at the MTC will be looking to engage
with all stakeholders to progress the recommendations. We must
utilise these technologies to build a future where UK manufacturing
can no longer be described as ‘dirty, dangerous and dull’, but one that
is clean, safe, and as exciting as our imagination will allow.

1  Automation, labor productivity and employment - a cross country comparison. Kromann, Lene &
Skaksen, Jan & Sørensen, Anders. (2011).
2  The Impact of Robots on Productivity, Employment and Jobs. International Federation of Robotics,
(2017), updated 2018.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With thanks to all who contributed to this report.

AUTHORS
Dr Clive Hickman Nigel Platt
Chief Executive Officer, Manufacturing General Manager, ABB Robotics
Technology Centre (MTC)
Peter Williamson
Mike Wilson Managing Director, RARUK Automation
Chief Automation Officer, MTC
Professor Phil Webb
Charlotte Horobin Cranfield University
Regional Director, Midlands & East of
Dr Niels Lohse
England, Make UK
Reader in Manufacturing Automation and
Jack Semple Robotics, Loughborough University
Alliance Secretary, Engineering and
Geoff Pegman
Machinery Alliance (EAMA)
Managing Director, RURobots Ltd
Professor Chris White
Professor Sam Turner
Director, Industrial Policy Research
Chief Technology Officer, High Value
Centre (IPRC), Loughborough University
Manufacturing Catapult (HVMC)
James Selka
David Atkinson
Chief Executive Officer, Manufacturing
UK Head of Manufacturing SME & Mid
Technologies Association (MTA)
Corporates, Lloyds Bank
Joshua Dugdale
Paresh Patel
Head of Technology & Skills, MTA
Regional Secretary, Unite the Union, East
Ian Wright Midlands Region
Chief Executive, Food and Drink
Will Stirling
Federation (FDF)
Stirling Media
Tom Bouchier
Managing Director, FANUC UK

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 A NEW PERSPECTIVE

EDITORIAL TEAM
Mary Lack
Graduate Research Engineer, MTC

Mike Wilson
Chief Automation Officer, MTC

Professor Chris White

Director, IPRC, Loughborough University

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 ROBOTICS AND
AUTOMATION: A
NEW PERSPECTIVE

CONTACT
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T: +44 (0)2476 647595

lboro.ac.uk/research/iprc @IPRC_Lboro